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Wu says Boston homeowners could see tax bills jump 28% unless legislature lets city adjust levies for commericial lots

By adamg on Wed, 10/09/2024 - 12:57pm

The State House News Service reports Mayor Wu is continuing to push for the state Senate to approve a measure that would let city assessors temporarily increase the total amount they can level in taxes on commercial property as a way to help reduce impending increases on residential property.

The issue is an overall decline in the assessments on commercial property due to workers continuing to stay out of downtown office buildings, which means that to keep the city budget balanced without major service cuts, residential levies would have to increase. The House has approved the Wu proposal; the Senate has not.

Neighborhoods: 
Boston
Topics: 
Business
Home 'n' hearth
Free tagging: 
Michelle Wu
property taxes


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Comments

By Matt_J on Wed, 10/09/2024 - 2:25pm.

Or... Now hear me out....

The city could cut spending to match the revenue. The Mayor could, if wanted, go through all the city agencies, contracts, allotments, and find places to cut.

Anyone who says that spending cuts are not possible is either fooling themselves or invested in keeping the administrative bureaucracy alive.

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By FenwayRyan on Wed, 10/09/2024 - 2:58pm.

The budget has already been approved. Additionally, they would need to cut $265,000,000 which is the equivalent of thousands of jobs. Which would you cut?

Also, this proposal is essentially identical to one that was granted to the Menino administration in 2004. It more or less cuts the initial tax increase by 2/3 for residents with the option of extending for three years (i.e. residential taxes will still go up but not by as much). Commercial properties will still see a reduction in taxes, just not as significant as they would if no action is taken.

Historically (1980s to early 2000s), commercial taxes were 70% of the property tax base, this then reduced to 60% from 2010-2024 and would further reduce to ~54% if no action is taken. This action keeps it around 58% Commercial, 42% Residential.

If no action is taken, everyone in the city will see a big jump in the cost of living. Month to month leases would be immediately increased. Also, many tenants have provisions in their 12 month leases that allow landlords to pass along property tax increases during their term. Worse still, renters will see a disproportionately high increase as their properties do not have homeowners exemptions for taxes. You can use this link to see how much your landlord currently pays in taxes: https://www.cityofboston.gov/assessing/search/.

All in all, this is a reasonable approach that has been approved for Boston in the past and other cities in MA more recently. Additionally, it has been approved by the City Council and House. However, we continue wait for the Senate to take action. Please email your senator and ask them to support this common sense Home Rule Petition.

https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator

By plt3012 on Wed, 10/09/2024 - 2:47pm.

Where are the budget cuts? Her budget calls for an 8% increase in city spending.