Protect Boston Property Owners by Holding the Line for Fiscal Sanity

Every taxpayer in Boston should understand that their tax bills will go up, not because of a budget imbalance, but because Mayor Michelle Wu refuses to curtail spending. All stakeholders should share in shouldering the burden, not just the commercial sector.

Recently, when the Boston City Council met to approve the tax shift “compromise” between Mayor Wu and a couple of business leaders, Boston City Councilor Benjamin Weber made a statement championing the nobility of higher taxes. However, we should make a few things clear.

SPOA and our reach of 30,000 property owners knew nothing of this tax shift deal brokered by Jim Rooney (Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce) and Tamara Small (National Association for Industrial and Office Parks). Following this so-called “compromise,” the mayor still got her way — having her cake and eating it too (minus a few crumbs).

We were never asked nor consulted.

Who are we? Only the payers of the taxes. Only the little people who provide 65% of the rental housing in the commonwealth.

We greatly appreciate efforts by Councilors Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy to fend off this bad deal, while offering alternatives. The City of Boston should thank them for standing up for fiscal sanity.

The mayor’s initial plan would have hiked the commercial tax rate 8% above current levels, or 200% of the residential rate. This would have been followed by a decrease back to 175% over four years. Under the amended plan, the city would increase commercial tax rates by 6.5% above current levels, or 181.5% of residential rates, with a gradual decrease back to current levels in three years. This is really not a compromise. 

No deal should be brokered without budget cuts on behalf of the City of Boston.

Spending is out of control. School enrollment is declining. Schools are dormant and empty. Busses are half full and unable to turn up on time. Lane restrictions prevent smooth traffic flow, resulting in unnecessarily long travel time through the city. Yet, 300 plus jobs have been created at city hall.

Nonsense is being spun to you as fact.

The City of Boston is no longer open for business.

Before you pack your bags and depart for a place where one can conduct business in a respectable fashion, consider this— the process is a bum rush.

But before you abandon hope, hold your state senators and representatives responsible for plying you with tax bills you cannot afford. Call and email them. https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator

Those in charge have slaughtered the golden goose.

Now they want you to pay the bill. We are financing our own demise.

The answer is simple. Just say, “No.”

What about those excessive rainy-day funds amid the wasteful spending?

Senator Nick Collins previously answered a State House News poll of elected officials by saying, “We’re still hearing a lot of concerns that the legislation hasn’t changed, that has had so much opposition from the retail community, business community, and folks in general, about taxes [going] up while the rainy-day funds in Boston are double what they need to be, according to Moody’s.”

How much taxpayer money was spent in Wu’s unsuccessful pursuit of rent control? What is the budget for the department at city hall educating disruptive, non-paying tenants to avoid eviction and remain in small housing providers’ units without paying rent?

Housing providers have been cutting costs since the pandemic. We watch interest rates in fear, wondering if conditions will improve when it’s time for us to go back to the bank to renew our loans. We cringe at Home Depot as the prices of supplies escalate, in addition to our tax bills and our water bills. Not to mention our insurance premiums skyrocketing with 15% to 40% increases. We don’t want to pass excessive rent increases to our tenants. But each day, we wonder how long we can continue to run our real estate under these adverse conditions.

We Must Protect Proposition 2 ½

Mayor Wu’s tax shift plan is a red herring. It’s an attempt to gut Proposition 2 ½ and the fundamental taxation structure of the state. 

Enacted in 1980, Proposition 2 ½ mandates that the total property tax levy not exceed 2.5% of the total assessed valuation within a municipality. It allows communities to establish split rates between commercial and residential property. Commercial rates cannot exceed 175% of residential rates. 

By exceeding the cap, Mayor Wu is trying to carve out a special deal for Boston unavailable to any other city or town in Massachusetts. By shifting the tax burden to commercial taxpayers beyond the limits defined by Proposition 2 ½, Mayor Wu will start an inevitable rush to the legislature by other communities that will rightfully ask for the same special treatment. The legendary Barbara Anderson, who fought to pass Proposition 2 ½, must be rolling in her grave!

The mayor and her supporters should be told, unequivocally, “No!”

There is no doubt they won’t like hearing that. Does Mayor Wu have any issues saying no to the business community? It’s been fairly consistent for the past three years.

No deal should be done without spending cuts

COVID spending has created unfunded mandates in Boston. In a poor economy, how can Boston exempt itself from cutting spending? Hasn’t everyone else had to?

But this is even worse. It is a case of adding insult to injury. Wu’s plan is to turn to the most beleaguered sector – commercial real estate – to make up the difference in her overly bloated budget.

Not to mention that businesses already pay $25.27 – more than two and a half times the residential tax rate.

If your state representative or senator votes for that deal, they should hear from you! You can contact them using the link below:

https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator

This is not a deal that is supported by SPOA and our members. We wonder, therefore, if “business leaders” considered their dues paying members as they brokered this deal.

No deal without SPENDING CUTS. End of story. This is really about dismantling the only tool that protects us from being taxed into oblivion. Don’t be distracted by the semantics of bills and the machinery. Just say, “No!”

by Allison Drescher and Amir Shahsavari