A Boston city councilor is proposing a structural change for how the city taxes multifamily properties.
MassLive.com reports Councilor Brian Worrell, a Democrat, has filed a proposal that reclassifies large apartment buildings as commercial real estate. His proposal would tax apartment buildings with at least 30 units at the same rate as commercial properties, and they would receive a 10% residential exemption that is similar to the current exemption for homeowners.
Furthermore, he is seeking an exemption of up to 50% for multifamily properties where at least 80% of the units are affordable to tenants making 80% or less of the area median income.
“By reclassifying large apartment buildings, corporate landlords in the City of Boston would be more equitably taxed,” Worrell stated. “The result would be that residential rates would be lowered across the city as a greater burden of the fixed Proposition 2.5 property tax revenue would fall on corporate landlords rather than on small landlords or homeowners.”
Worrell’s plan was criticized by the Small Property Owners Association, which argued in favor of spending cuts instead of tax code rewrites.
“This extreme proposal would do significant harm to Boston renters and landlords, deter investment in much-needed new housing stock, and enable the City of Boston to continue its recent pattern of unchecked spending increases,” the group said.
Worrell’s proposal will be discussed at the City Council’s next meeting on Oct. 29.












If it looks like a duck (tax increase), smells like a duck, waddles like…