I’ve heard questions and concerns from constituents about Boston’s property tax shift proposal. I appreciate the dialog and I want to share as much information as possible. Here are some links and some questions and answers:
- Boston Globe editorial
- My previous in-depth report
- Previous public statements
- Resources for people seeking relief
- Contact information for my team
- Community Meeting, December 14, 2025
What is the proposal from the City of Boston that is in the news?
The proposal would shift taxes to business properties from residential properties to a greater degree than currently permitted by state law, something that no other city has done. It would raise the business property tax rate to more than 175% above the average property tax rate.
What is the problem that the proposal seeks to address?
The City’s budget has grown 26% over the last four years, from $3.8 billion in FY2022 to $4.8 billion in FY2026. Correspondingly, the total property tax levy has also grown 26%, from $2.8 billion in FY2022 to $3.5 billion in FY2026. Additionally, residential property values have grown more than commercial property values in the same period, so residential property taxpayers are picking up a larger share. The residential property tax levy grew 26% from FY2022 through FY2025 and the FY2026 residential levy (to be finalized shortly) will increase further.
Are Boston taxes and spending transparent?
Yes. Every discussion of spending and property taxes should express appreciation for the city’s transparency on spending and taxes. All spending and tax data, including every taxpayer’s bill, is available online. For a much deeper analysis based on city data, see this previous post.
Where do you stand on the proposal?
I understand the motivation of the proposal, but for the reasons below, I cannot support it.
The proposal would help homeowners struggling to afford life in Boston — why not adopt it?
We are striving to do more on many fronts, but broadly shifting property tax rates across classes is not an efficient way to deliver relief. The proposal would give an additional property tax break even to our wealthiest homeowners, while increasing the burden on struggling small business owners. Even for businesses that might seem strong economically, if we raise commercial taxes, employees and customers are going to bear much of the burden. And, of course, if we hope to revitalize our downtown, raising commercial taxes will not help.
But we already do shift property taxes to business — there is precedent, right?
Indeed. But it is not good precedent; we don’t want to make the system worse. This year, business owners, including small businesses, will pay a property tax rate of $26.96, more than twice the $12.40 paid by residential owners, including our wealthiest homeowners.
How did we get here?
The current business vs. residential split reflects an historical political compromise. Back in the 50s and 60s, property taxation was opaque, arbitrary, and discriminatory. There were no state controls on local assessors. Assessed property values bore no consistent relationship to true property values. Taxes tended to be lower in politically strong neighborhoods, higher for black homeowners, and relatively high and unpredictable for businesses. Through litigation in the 70s, the principle was established that every property should be assessed at its true value. Implementing this rule in Boston would have dramatically raised taxes on residents in the politically favored neighborhoods that had benefited from the old system. A compromise was reached that required all properties to be truly assessed but allowed tax rates on properties classified as businesses to be up to 175% above the average rate.
Shouldn’t every community just be free to tax as they see fit?
No. We have to work together around shared principles in our constitution and laws. We are one Commonwealth, even though we are fragmented into 351 cities and towns. Assessing was political and discriminatory in Boston and many other communities before the state-wide reform efforts of the 80s and 90s.
How do residential taxes in Boston compare to other communities?
As a result of the allowed 175% shift to commercial property and Boston’s relatively large commercial base, Boston’s residential taxpayers pay a smaller share of the tax levy than in many communities. As a result, residential property taxes (as compared to city-wide personal income) rank near the bottom among the 351 communities in the state.
How does the residential exemption fit in?
State law allows municipalities to exempt from taxation a portion of the value of owner-occupied properties. Boston does annually vote to take advantage of this option. The residential exemption, combined with the commercial shift, means that the median homeowner in Boston pays approximately $7 per thousand, below all but a few communities. Boston’s choice to exempt a portion of owner-occupied properties does, however, push up the rates on rental properties, putting their rates slightly above the statewide average for all properties.
Didn’t the legislature let Watertown do what Boston is trying to do?
No. Watertown has never tried to go above the historic 175% compromise level. In Watertown, commercial values have grown strongly, while in Boston commercial values have softened.
Is the state doing anything to help relieve Boston property taxes?
Today, the state directly supports roughly 10% of the budget of the City of Boston. Without direct state aid, Boston property taxes would be that much higher. Apart from direct support to the City’s budget, the state contributes billions to subsidize the MBTA, subsidize public housing, and provide income support and health care for many Boston residents. Many of these costs were historically carried at the city or county level. Generous state support has long been essential to Boston’s survival. Advocating for more support for Boston and the other communities that I represent has always been a central priority for me.
What else are you doing as a legislator that could help my budget?
I am trying to move legislation that would allow the City to use its own resources to provide targeted relief to more taxpayers. Of course, most households face additional challenges. For some the top problem is property taxes, for some health care, for some, energy costs. For most, the problem is the rent or the mortgage. On all of these fronts, diminishing federal support is making it harder for us to deliver meaningful relief.
How can you help me solve my immediate challenges?
If you or someone you know is facing a financial crisis due to property tax increases, my team is here to help. There are a variety of programs in place and we can help connect you to them. Please reach out to my team or call my cell at 617-771-8274 and we will do all we can. Even if you think you don’t qualify for any programs, reach out and we will help you identify all the options.
Very thoughtful, Will. We’re so fortunate to have you as our state senator
Cut down on spending. I see City employees standing around doing very little. The serfvice is slow & often when consulting at City Hall I am treated as an icvonvenience to the employee. Off for lunch – nobody available – really!!!
3 years to get a permit to replace a deck – really!
The Ispection website not up to date –
Will,
This is a very solid explanation of a challenging problem. In spite of the substantial tax increase that I will face,I agree that shifting taxes to an already hurting commercial real estate business (and to its tenants through triple net leases) is not a good path. I hope that the senate bills that would allow the city to apply its reserves can move ahead.
The core of the problem is the out of control city budget. One pet project after another. Incredible amounts of unchecked corruption. Also, we are lacking real talent in key positions. They’ve been replaced with unqualified connected favored employees. The folks on the City council are not the highest IQ and are caught up in BS drama and stealing (e.g Miss Tania Fernandes, etc, etc) There is nobody to check any of this. Unfortunately, over the coming years the spiral down will continue and the values of everything will go down. More businesses leave…more residents leave.
I agree, Mark.
Mayor Wu is WOKE and that’s all.
Billions have gone to and continue to go to illegal aliens by both Wu and Gov. Healy.
And Wu has not been transparent about White Stadium costs.
Wu wants Rent Control which will result in less maintenance, depression of property values, less tax revenue, and (as in NYC) wealthy people living in rent controlled apartments.
Wu and Healey are nothing but Leftists and will drive the state broke.
Recall when Healey said during the 2020 riots that “America is burning but that’s how forests grow.” She favored the violence!
Recall Healy said outright that as AG she cancelled the gas pipelines from NH and now claims she never said it even though the audio has bee replayed many times. So that’s why your gas bills are going up.
LIE, LIES, and more LIES.
https://wrko.iheart.com/content/2020-06-03-ag-maura-healey-yes-america-is-burning-but-thats-how-forests-grow/
There isn’t a single Democrat in office across the nation who isn’t hard at work laying the foundations of a Socialist revolution.
I hade been a straight-party Democrat since WJC and have been souring on them logarithmically since BHO’s and The Party’s assaults on the Constitution and American values. The only Democrat I could ever trust to vote for is one who becomes a Republican. The forces that drove us out of Europe to find freedom and liberty in the New World are ascendant in the Democrats, social or otherwise.
They say that as people get older they become more conservative, this in this moment in time things are different. The preservation of the Union demands patriotic Democrats wake up and abandon the lobster pot they are slowly boiling in and find a home in the Republican Party in the name of free speech and equality.
Dee, thanks for bringing that quote to attention.
Are these people serious? How come so many morons have come out of the wood work since Frump was elected the first time…yikes.
Thank you for this detailed information, quantitative data, and thoughtful analysis, Will. If only all of our elected officials were as rational, transparent, and data-driven in their decisions as you are.
Terrific aggregation of materials, Will. So appreciate your ongoing work as a civic educator, as well as collaborator and lawmaker. “See” you Sunday!
Compared with other states, individually, and collectively, how does the state support of its communities compare? What portion of municipal expenses are paid by state support?
Thank you for doing this post.
I think the city needs to curb its budget. Just as any ordinary and responsible household and/or business would do if expenses were exceeding income.
There has been no serious or transparent discussion by our city officials in Boston to review possible areas of overspending that are contributing to the financial crisis that the city now finds itself in. A financial crisis that is predicted to continue for at least the next few years. And quite probably beyond that, if more sober action is not taken ASAP.
I’ve been a Boston resident since 1985, and during that time, particularly in times of economic stress, the mayor and the city council have actually taken action to lower the tax rate, to help residents, and businesses.
Our current city council is doing the exact opposite.
This mayor and city council has agreed to increase our residential property tax rate per $1,000 valuation. So, it is that combination of an increase in the residential tax rate, and a rise in residential property values, along with the decline of the market rate of commercial properties (in large part due to covid policies – declines that show no signs of slowing in the next several years) that is putting undue pressure on the budgets of both residents and businesses.
The clear-eyed approach to this would be to look seriously at the budget, and make meaningful cuts to the budget in the least damaging way.
One of the stated missions of our current mayor and city council is to make housing more affordable for all. There’s a rent control bill making its way to the ballot next November that would cap a rise in rents to 5% per annum, or cap a rise in rents at the cost of living index – whichever is LOWER.
With the market looking like it is, especially for the business community, and for local developers of residential housing, finding decent, well maintained affordable housing is going to become even more difficult.
One thing the state could do is work on the cost of energy. The cost of electricity has been soaring beyond reasonable measure in just the last few years. The cost of natural gas has also gone up exponentially in Massachusetts. And the two are intertwined, because Massachusetts is getting a large percentage of it’s electricity from natural gas.
Insurance rates have also seen large increases.
And a variety of new taxes are being proposed on Beacon Hill.
This does not seem to me to be an ideal recipe for prosperity. At least not for the middle class.
A follow on question. What portion of municipal expenses are paid by income taxes and what by property taxes: US municipals versus MA State municipals?
Thank you. This is clear, well reasoned and sensible. I’m convinced now that raising the residential rate is the right move for Boston.
Lastly, is there a State (Commonwealth) department and effort to manage government regulation better?
Sorry, one more addition: ‘manage better’ means evaluating the purpose of regulation, as well as evaluating the methods of regulation, all to better serve the public interest.
What portion of municipal expenses in MA are supported by the Commonwealth?
This does not give portion (tho someone has sure tabulated that), but the absolute state aid numbers for schools (chap 70) and general govt:
https://budget.digital.mass.gov/govbudget/fy26/local-aid/
The reason Boston commercial real estate is struggling is due, in large part, to business-unfriendly Boston policies. Thanks to all the bike and bus lanes, it takes 2 hours to drive from Boston to Boston. Thanks to the Mayor’s continued enabling of open air drug markets, you are sure to get mugged as soon as you arrive. Or step on a needle… Gee… why would anyone want to do business in this city?
If you want lower prices, the government needs to provide safety and order… and get out of the way on most other matters. Your housing regulations and subsidies only inflate real estate prices. Your transit interventions only makes the commute worse. Just stop! Let business step in and supply what is demanded.
You people continue spending wildly on pet projects while the city turns into a dilapidated ruin… keep at it and eventually you will run out of other people’s money.
Spoken like someone who has never set foot in Boston. Lived here for 25 years and have never felt unsafe.
City is giving out 82,000 “clean” needles a month so people can inject themselves in those open air drug markets.
That sounds quite expensive too!
I’d like to hear some serious discussion about trimming the budget.
It’s what I do in my household, and in my business, if expenses are outpacing income.
Well said.
Mayor Wu should have the authority to do the job she was elected to do and shift the residential:commercial property tax ratio that her administration sees fit. Your argument against her doing that is a total red herring: that historically property tax rates discriminated against individual neighborhoods or marginalized populations. Ok, but you know that isn’t the proposal in front of you, and you know that it would be quite easy to maintain laws that allowed municipalities the freedom to determine the residential:commercial ratio while preventing them from using the tax rates to discriminate against protected classes. That same logic could be used to justify no local flexibility whatsoever; it’s just not a sound argument.
The.reallty is that this is just another symptom of the megalomania that pervades the legislature and has motivated the growing distrust in its operation. We have one of only 10 full-time legislatures in the country and yet ours routinely ranks near the bottom in legislative effectiveness. I understand this is the least productive legislative session in recent history, and rather than getting their own work done, they’re trying to micromanage the property tax rates of a city with its own democratically elected leadership.
It is not a prudent idea shifting an additional tax burden onto businesses. One need just look at commercial property vacancies in Boston to see the cost of doing business in the city. An additional tax burden on businesses would only make sense to someone who has no idea (or experience ) in what it takes to run a business profitably in this climate.
Socialism, right ahead!
I think the solution is well under way. Residents are voting with their feet. It appears to be an insolvable problem. The inequities of the taxation system in Massachusetts are baked in with a lot of implicit bias against many. Municipalities can only do what the state allows them to do. The burden is placed upon those who least benefit and afford, while other groups have benefited and “grabbed the loot and ran”. Massachusetts needs to take a good hard look at their regressive tax system. The only other thing I can think of is chapter 9 bankruptcy at the end game
Senator: the idea of focusing tax relief on those who most need it is very positive. However, the trap door in your proposal is in the phrase “allow the City to use its own resources” which implies a reduction of available resources for any of the other necessary programs and infrastructure that a city requires. And it doesn’t appear that the state is cable — or willing — to fully close those kinds of gaps. It would be better if your proposal was tied to an expansion of cities across the state to vote to adopt other forms of taxation or revenue generation beyond the property tax.
The problem isn’t the taxes, it’s the ridiculous wasteful spending and balloning city budget. Lower the damn budget, cut the wasteful spending, lower the taxes. This is what happens when the city is run by libtards with no accountability.
Perhaps one solution could be a tiered property tax.
X per 1000 for up to 250k in value
Y per 1000 for 250 to 500
Etc etc etc.
It is still the property tax. It will solve it in the short term and kick the can down the road and the problem will come back again. Massachusetts tax system is regressive and it needs to be reformed from top to bottom. I like the thought of this innovation that is so bereft in the legislature,
Appalling that the budget is up 26% in 4 years. But this is what you get in a one-party state. Forget accountability – where’s the audit?, forget asking for explanations, you wont get any. Period. Here’s another bike lane, peasant….