Boston Mayor Plots Commercial Property Tax Hike

If at first you don’t succeed in raising commercial property taxes, try, try again.

That appears to be the mentality of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who revived her plan to raise commercial property taxes in the coming fiscal year, the Boston Business Journal reported. She introduced an updated version of legislation this week that would raise the cap on commercial property taxes for three years.

Benefits of a raised cap would include limited tax increases on residential properties and mitigating budget cuts. The harm would fall on commercial real estate landlords already struggling to make their properties economically viable, creating fears of an “urban doom loop” in the city.

Wu’s latest proposal calls for residential tax rebates from surplus city funds if lawmakers fail to pass the proposed rate changes.

The timing of the proposal is no accident. Tax bills were just mailed out to residents for the third quarter, resetting the clock for legislation. Wu said residents could see savings for the fiscal year ending in June, but only if legislation is passed by the end of March.

Wu is following up a failed attempt at hiking commercial property taxes. The proposal needs approval from the City Council, the state Legislature and Gov. Maura Healey. Last month, a similar measure wasn’t even brought up for debate in the Massachusetts State Senate, effectively leaving it dead in the water.

The mayor previously said the average homeowner would see a 10.5 percent increase in their annual tax bill, compared to the previous fiscal year. Her previous proposal was set to slash the increase to about 5 percent.

Wu’s latest proposal comes with a math update: while the average single-family tax increase would be 10.4, the average residential bill would increase nearly 15 percent when adding duplexes and condos into the pot.

While Wu tries to deliver a political victory in a battle she’s been waging for a long time, she delivered a personal win on Monday, giving birth to her third child.

— Holden Walter-Warner