Boston Mayor Angers Neighborhood Activists
Has Boston Mayor Michelle Wu managed to unite real estate developers and neighborhood activists against her with pending tax increases on homeowners and the White Stadium redevelopment?
Boston Faces a Bigger Office – and Budget – Crisis Than You Think
Gone unnoticed amid all the heated debate are signs that the underlying problem – the decline in office building values – may be even more serious than first thought.
The Worst of Boston’s Tax Problems May Be Yet to Come
The good news is that Boston’s 2025 tax revenue crisis may not be as bad as some have feared. The bad news is office values may have further to fall.
New Boston Property Tax Outlook Shows Smaller Resi Jump
Updated assessment data from Boston City Hall shows a smaller projected increase in residential property taxes in 2025, but Mayor Michelle Wu is still lobbying for legislation shifting a larger portion of the tax levy onto commercial properties.
Wu Still Hopeful for Tax Plan
Boston Mayor Wu is holding out hope that she can get Senate President Karen Spilka to come around to her proposal to temporarily increase the tax rate for Boston’s commercial property owners.
Mayor Ready to Dial Each Senator in Property Tax Push
Senators be aware: If you get a call from a 617 phone number in the coming days, it could be Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
After Wu Agrees to Changes, House Passes Boston Tax Bill
State representatives are ready to move forward on a proposed property tax rebalancing plan for the city of Boston after Mayor Michelle Wu agreed to scale back the changes.
With Session Nearing End, Boston Tax Rate Bill Advances
While it ran into resistance during its public hearing, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s proposal to temporarily increase the property tax rate for commercial buildings cleared its first major legislative hurdle as a key deadline approaches.
Downtown Boston’s Crisis Demands Collaboration
Sometimes crisis creates opportunity: a chance for the real estate industry and both city and state political leadership to come together and create a new and better economic engine room for Massachusetts.
Raising Taxes on Businesses Won’t Protect Boston Residents
Whether or not Boston lowers its residential property tax rate in the short-term, the city’s residential tax rate will likely climb 40 percent by 2029. Building more housing is the only way out.
Report Argues Downtown Boston Facing Long-Term Problems
A new analysis by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation wades into the debate over Boston commercial property taxes, arguing the city’s downtown faces long-term challenges just as bad or worse than other major American metros.
Boston City Councilors OK Commercial Tax Rate Hike
A coalition of real estate and business groups suffered a setback Wednesday in their campaign to keep Boston leaders from increasing their property tax rate to compensate for falling office values.
Council Still Not Ready to Move on Wu’s Tax Shift Proposal
With the window for the necessary state legislative action quickly closing, Boston city councilors still have many questions about a proposed tax-shift plan that has drawn the ire of some influential real estate industry leaders.
Boston Councilors Hear Tax Fears from Residents, Biz
Boston City Councilors weighing a proposal by Mayor Michelle Wu to ask state permission to temporarily increase the city tax rate on commercial property heard competing and dire predictions from the measure’s supporters and opponents Thursday morning.
Biz Leaders: Wu’s Tax Plan Makes Suburbs Winners
Business leaders warned Wednesday morning that increases to Boston’s commercial property tax rate would further diminish downtown as an economic center and drive businesses to Cambridge and suburban communities.
Report Predicts $2.6B Drop in CRE Values from Tax Shift
A temporary shift in Boston’s tax structure would hike commercial properties’ tax bills by 17 percent in fiscal 2025 while reducing their cumulative value by $2.6 billion, according to an analysis of future real estate conditions.
Top Boston Rep Mum on Wu CRE Property Tax Proposal
Chairman Aaron Michlewitz, one of the most powerful people in the state legislature, sidestepped a question Wednesday about Mayor Michelle Wu’s controversial proposal to change Boston’s property tax code.
City Councilors Raise Questions About Wu Tax Shift Plan
During a four-hour hearing Tuesday, most councilors didn’t take an explicit up or down stance, but voiced concerns about the long-term impact on real estate development or on small businesses.
Downtown Boston Needs More than New Zoning to Bounce Back
Can downtown Boston escape the so-called urban doom loop? Probably. But it’s going to take a lot more than new “skyline” zoning for taller towers to bring it back.
In Speech, Wu Defends Downtown Strategies, Tax Rate Plan
Speaking to the Boston Municipal Research Bureau’s annual meeting Thursday, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said her plans to increase troubled office towers’ share of the city’s tax burden were vital to “avoid making our housing crisis worse.”
