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massdee
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 Posted - 04/15/2011 : 09:20:19 AM
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Real Estate Roundup
Everett's business tax rates are tops in state
Boston Business Journal - by Craig M. Douglas
Date: Friday, April 15, 2011, 7:27am EDT
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The community of Everett has long positioned itself as the city of pride, progress and possibilities, but it is fast becoming the city of PO’d property owners with its sky-high commercial tax levies, far and away the highest in the Bay State.
The city's top billing, as well as property tax rates in other Massachusetts communities, can be determined via The Round Up's new online database of municipal tax levies.
For fiscal 2011, Everett’s commercial tax levy is $43.74 for every $1,000 in assessed property value. To put that in perspective, that rate would require the owner of a $1 million building to pay the city $43,740 in annual property taxes. That same property’s tax bill would only be $29,300 in neighboring Revere; $23,680 if it was to Everett’s north in Malden; and $22,980 to the west in Medford.
At nearly three times the state median of $14.90, Everett’s commercial levy seems to be testing the old adage that, in the long run, businesses care little about property taxes and instead are most concerned with location. To be sure, Everett’s proximity to the ocean and access to Boston are frequently cited amenities among the city’s business owners.
Interviews with some local business leaders and property owners confirmed as much; property taxes are simply an unavoidable cost of doing business in their desired locations, they said. However, others said they’ve had enough.
“This place is going to be a ghost town,” said John Ventura, co-owner and manager of Everett Square Sporting Goods, which owns its 14,000-square-foot building at 427 Broadway. Ventura’s family has owned the building for decades and is facing a 2011 tax bill of over $33,000.
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Boston Business Journal
