Breaking News/06.05.2024
Blowback in Boston: As Wu’s plan to jack up tax rates on struggling office buildings clears key hurdle, business groups fire back
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s already rocky relationship with city business leaders on took another major hit on Wednesday.
The Boston City Council voted 8-4 to approve a controversial Wu administration tax shift to deal with the fallout from the collapse of the downtown office market.
Wu’s plan, which will now have to clear the State House in order to go into effect, would help cushion the blow for city homeowners from an expected, $1 billion-plus tax shortfall in future years.
But the mayor’s proposal would accomplish this by raising commercial tax rates and attempting to squeeze more money out of already struggling downtown office buildings. And that, business groups have warned, could prove catastrophic, pushing some already ailing buildings into financial distress and foreclosure.
The Greater Boston Real Estate Board blasted Wednesday’s vote as “incredibly misguided,” while NAIOP Massachusetts, which represents developers across the state, said it was “deeply concerned.”
The Boston Policy Institute, which issued a report earlier this year warning of the looming tax revenue crisis, argues that Wu’s plan fails to rise to the occasion.
“The challenge for Boston is to acknowledge this new reality and find solutions that are equally wide-ranging and durable,” said Greg Maynard, executive director for BPI, in a press statement. “That won’t be easy, but the alternative is difficult to even contemplate: a permanently diminished city.”
This is a developing story and Contrarian Boston will have more reporting on it in the next edition.