More than 100 Nashville businesses are calling on city leaders to re-evaluate the impact of property taxes on their operations.
WPLN News reports the newly formed Nashville Property Tax Coalition follows last year’s property reappraisal, which saw values rise an average of 45% countywide. The effort is led by Christian Paro, owner of co-working space Center 615, who complained his personal experience resulted in this initiative.
“I couldn’t actually afford my tax bill,” said Paro. “And I consider myself a 21-year resident of Nashville who pays his taxes.”
Many Nashville business owners are appealing their property valuations, and the coalition is seeking to speed this process by expanding the Board of Equalization (which considers property assessments and appeals). The coalition is also requesting that the board use “income-based approach reflecting reasonable rental rates and cap rates that mirror actual operating conditions, rather than speculative redevelopment assumptions.”
Mayor Freddie O’Connell explained that taxes are higher because local property valuations have increased.
“The toughest thing about our growing, vibrant, dynamic city is that you do see parts of the city where properties values increase,” O’Connell said. “And I guess I just keep coming back to — the only time when property taxes are increasing right now is if their property values have increased substantially.”
But for Paro, the city’s response has been unsatisfactory.
“Indirectly, both the assessor and the mayor’s office seem to be communicating ‘You should just sell your building because it’s worth more’,” Paro said. “You’re advocating that they just sell and make some money and move on … There’s a lot of businesses out there, whether tenant or owner-operator, that would like to continue serving the neighborhoods in which they exist.”
Paro added that the coalition is not trying to abolish property taxes. But he warned that too-high taxes could force many smaller and eclectic local businesses to close.
“I feel like it’s local, cool, weird businesses that make neighborhoods and cities cool,” Paro said. “I could go to a Cheesecake Factory anywhere. But can I go to Bongo Java anywhere? No.”
