Boston Mayor Michelle Wu reached a compromise with enterprise leaders to assist advance a proposal aimed toward defending householders from a pointy spike in property taxes.
The deal introduced on Wednesday seeks to stabilize Boston’s tax system, which depends closely on business property income and has been thrown off steadiness by the stoop in workplace demand.
KEEP READING: Property tax income surges by virtually 9% from final yr
Wu’s plan includes implementing a momentary hike in business property taxes to assist hold the town funds afloat. With out the measure, the common house owner faces a 28% enhance of their quarterly tax payments, she stated earlier this month.
Enterprise leaders initially pushed again in opposition to the proposal, arguing larger taxes would deepen the ache for the business actual property market, which is grappling with a nationwide stoop in workplace demand. Industrial property values in Boston have fallen 7% within the present fiscal yr, reflecting excessive emptiness charges in older and lower-quality workplace buildings amid the persistence of pandemic-era distant and hybrid work insurance policies.
In response to these issues, Wu revised the plan, limiting how a lot the town can shift the tax burden onto business properties and shortening the period of the momentary tax enhance to a few years, from 5 years beforehand.
“This compromise acknowledges the disaster going through the business actual property sector, and as we glance forward, we should work collectively to encourage financial development,” Tamara Small, chief government officer of economic actual property growth affiliation NAIOP Massachusetts, stated in a press release.
READ MORE: 20 states with the very best property taxes
The Massachusetts Home of Representatives permitted the tax shift in late July — days earlier than the tip of the formal legislative session — after Wu agreed to comparable changes that may ease the influence for companies. The Senate had but to comply with go well with, sparking criticism from Wu, who has stated Boston residents ought to blame the chamber if their taxes enhance.
The revamped proposal nonetheless requires approval from the Boston Metropolis Council, each chambers of the legislature and Governor Maura Healey.
