Pols say roll back rent tax on Manhattan firms
City lawmakers plan to introduce a bill Thursday that would roll back a commercial rent tax on Manhattan businesses — a move designed to provide relief after the pandemic and its economic aftermath left business owners struggling to survive.
The bill, which will be introduced by Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and Councilman Keith Powers at the Council’s Thursday meeting, would lift the 4% tax on commercial rents business below 96th St. in Manhattan for three years.
“For businesses like those in my district in Midtown, the amount of people that are commuting to work every single day and are shopping at those businesses is drastically down,” Powers told the Daily News on Wednesday. “They are experiencing essentially a recession.”
Even before the pandemic, Manhattan business owners were clamoring for relief from the city tax, which has singled out the borough for years. They’ve argued that such a rollback and other measures were in order because of how online shopping has impacted their bottom line over the years. The pandemic further accelerated that trend, and rents continue to climb as storefronts remain vacant.
Under the tax as it presently stands, firstfloor commercial businesses on the island south of 96th Street must pay 4% of what they pay in rent annually to the city.
In 2017, the Council passed a bill allowing businesses earning less than $5 million and paying less than $500,000 in rent annually to receive exemptions from the tax.
The latest proposal would apply to businesses with annual rents of more than $500,000, according to Levine.
“What we’re calling for is an emergency measure,” Levine said. “It’s not peanuts for businesses that are struggling with costs. You think of supermarkets — these are already low-margin businesses.”