Massachusetts Senate to finally debate Boston Mayor Wu’s contentious tax shift bill
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s stalled tax shift bill will be taken up by the state Senate Thursday for the first time since it was killed there more than a year ago, but this time as an amendment filed for an alternate Senate-led tax relief proposal.
State Sen. Michael Rush, a Boston Democrat, filed an amendment to state Sen. William Brownsberger’s property tax shock bill that mirrors the language included in a home rule petition the mayor has been pushing for nearly two years that would shift more of the city’s tax burden from the residential to commercial sector.
“Property tax relief is a pressing issue for my constituents — and residents throughout the state,” Rush said Monday in a statement to the Herald. “On behalf of the people of Boston, I have filed the home rule petition passed by the Boston City Council to provide property tax relief for Boston residents.
“As the Senate considers several worthy proposals designed to address affordability in the Commonwealth, I am glad this proposal will be part of the discussion,” Rush said.
Wu’s office told the Herald Saturday that the mayor had requested the amendment.
“Every senator has the opportunity to submit amendments related to these bills by Monday, and we have asked Boston’s senators to offer an amendment with our residential tax relief language that has been vetted thoroughly and never received a vote,” a Wu spokesperson said in a statement. “We are following closely and hope the final bills will include this needed relief for residents.”
Wu has said her legislation is aimed at lowering the 13% tax hike the average single-family homeowner is projected to face this year. Third-quarter tax bills went out to homeowners earlier this month.
The mayor’s bill seeks to shift more of the city’s tax burden onto commercial property owners, beyond the 175% state limit, for a three-year period.
It is set to be debated, along with several other amendments that have been filed by senators for Brownsberger’s property tax shock bill, at Thursday’s session.
“All amendments filed by members of the Senate will be considered by the full body during our session on Thursday,” a spokesperson for Senate President Karen Spilka’s office said Monday in a statement to the Herald.
A vote is expected on the bill and underlying amendments on the same day, according to state Sen. Nick Collins, a South Boston Democrat whose alternative tax relief bill and amendments will also be considered.
Collins, who opposes the tax shift element of the mayor’s home rule petition and helped lead the push to kill it on the Senate floor in late 2024, has put forward a bill and amendments that include other elements of what Wu has proposed.
He’s pushing for tax rebates for low- and middle-income homeowners who already receive the residential tax exemption by using surplus funds, along with senior, veterans and small business tax relief provisions.
“I think that the relief measures are positive in terms of the amendments that I and others have filed that are relief in nature or relief options, but I think anything that involves a tax increase is going to be difficult,” Collins told the Herald Monday when asked about the chances for the mayor’s proposal.
“Especially when the city is sitting on $552 million of what they consider to be free cash, it’s hard to make the case that tax increase is necessary,” Collins added.
In a statement issued by his office, Collins added that the city’s decision to hike residential property taxes by double-digits “with so much in the City of Boston’s surplus fund” was “unnecessary, unfair and clearly inequitable.”
“To cancel out that tax increase, my legislation would authorize the city to issue direct rebates to homeowners,” Collins said.
He pointed to a similar approach that he said was taken at the state level in 2022, when the governor and legislature issued rebates after tax revenues exceeded the cap established under voter-approved state law, Chapter 62F, which limits the growth of state tax collections.
In terms of Rush’s amendment, Collins said he’s also concerned that the senator’s language would make the mayor’s tax shift bill applicable statewide, rather than just in Boston.
Related Articles
Boston City Council president drama continues as allies of Mayor Wu tapped for key leadership posts
Flynn files resolution on meeting violations during City Council president election, seeking AG’s guidance
Pols & Politics: Ex-Marty Walsh cabinet chief to head MCCA, Boston City Council takes 2-week vacation
Out of jail, Tania Fernandes Anderson spills the tea on shocking Boston City Council president vote
After ‘horrific’ rape at Boston Medical Center, councilor pushes for security review
Collins said he has also filed an amendment that would allow for an extension of the abatement process to April 1, to allow homeowners and commercial property owners a longer period of time to challenge city property assessments that have an impact on how much they pay in property taxes.
The mayor added tax rebates to her home rule petition at the beginning of last year as a fall-back option, and renewed her push for the Senate to approve the bill last month.
Collins is a co-sponsor of Brownsberger’s bill, which seeks to shield homeowners from double-digit tax bills, by phasing in increases or offering targeted tax credits in years when property tax hikes are projected to exceed 10%.
Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, a Gloucester Republican, co-sponsored both the Collins- and Brownsberger-led bills that will be debated on Thursday.
If the bills, and any related amendments, are approved, they will move onto the House of Representatives for consideration.
Sen. Nick Collins (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald, File)
