Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is attempting to revive a failed effort to ease the burden on homeowners hit with double-digit increases in their property taxes.
The refiled proposal would cut the tax rate for the current fiscal year or provide residential rebates if such a reduction isn't approved by March, Wu's office said in a statement Monday. Additional provisions call for stepped-up exemptions for small businesses and senior citizens.
Wu, who is seeking reelection in November, is taking another crack at the measure a month after an earlier proposal died in the state legislature and two weeks after Boston sent out new property-tax bills to homeowners with significant hikes. Earlier this month, the city rolled out a calculator for residential taxpayers to figure out what their rates would have been if her proposed legislation had been adopted last year.
"For too many residents, this sharp tax spike is a burden that makes it even harder to pay bills and afford to stay in the city they call home," she said in the statement.
Quarterly taxes for the average single-family home with a residential exemption increased by more than 10%, which amounts to almost $575 for the year, Wu's office said. Boston's tax revenue is under pressure because of the nationwide decline in office demand, which is hitting commercial property values.
Wu had initially proposed a workaround that would preserve Boston's budget without burdening homeowners with the brunt of the shortfall from commercial levies. But that plan
While last year's bill was passed by the city council and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, it ultimately failed to get a vote before the state Senate. Corporate leaders have argued that higher property taxes would only deepen the pain in the battered commercial real estate market.
The latest proposal will be presented before the city council and then head to state lawmakers for consideration.
