BUILDERS MAY FACE LUXE TAX
Measure aims to boost middle-class property
A proposal to allow the city of Boston to tax highend real estate developers up to 6 percent through a transfer fee has early support from city councilors, meaning its passage will likely depend on a signature from Mayor Martin J. Walsh, who has been noncommittal so far.
“We need to make sure that as a city we say that we are not for sale and that our Boston housing market is truly for families, the middle class and folks trying to assure that they can live and work here,” Councilor Lydia Edwards said Wednesday during the City Council’s weekly agenda meeting. She expects passage of the home petition, adding that “the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.”
The proposal, filed on Monday, officially received a hearing order Wednesday as Edwards and Kim Janey, the two sponsors, laid out the framework. The language of the proposal says that owner-occupants would be exempt from the fees.
“Building wealth is important, it’s necessary,” Edwards said when talking about exempting owner-occupants and families who have lived in the buildings before selling. “We’re talking about people who are coming here only to make money and as much as possible regardless of the pain that they make.”
Walsh wouldn’t budge one way or the other Tuesday night after reporters asked him whether he would support the proposal, but has previously said the city has to keep a “balance” between growth and affordability.
“I haven’t had a chance to look at it yet, because we’ve been preparing for this,” Walsh said after his State of the City address, “so we’re going to take a look at it, but we’ve done things, we’ve raised inclusionary development.”
Council President Andrea Campbell told the Herald she doesn’t know how the proposal will play out, but said the fees, estimated to haul in as much as $300 million in revenue for affordable housing, would address an obvious problem plaguing the city.
“We keep talking about Boston is booming, this economic prosperity, the city is doing so well,” Campbell said. “But there are many folks and many neighborhoods that don’t feel like they have access to that or that those are opportunities that are available to them to participate in this prosperity.”
Councilor At-Large Michelle Wu rose during Wednesday’s meeting to express support, adding that the way the legislation is written allows for “flexibility” from the city. But District 9 Councilor Mark Ciommo cautioned his colleagues that “taxes and fees impact behavior,” and added if the council supports the initiative, they should be mindful of development programs looking to sell to owner-occupants.