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Today is National Boston Cream Pie Day, a day to celebrate pies that are actually cakes (kind of the opposite of cheesecakes). Experts feel strongly about it. “This is not a pie at all,” Susan Wilson, a historian at Omni Parker House, the birthplace of pie/cake, told WBUR’s Faust Menard. “It’s cake. It’s always been cake. It’s always cake.”
To learn more about the history of Boston cream pie, check out our introductory field guide to Boston food culture. Now, here’s the news.
We have an agreement. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and local business leaders have agreed to compromise on her plan to shift more of the city’s property tax burden to businesses. The agreement aims to avoid both dramatic tax increases for homeowners and painful budget cuts, allowing the city to temporarily raise commercial real estate tax rates above state limits. However, it is lower than Wu’s original proposal and includes some new protections for small businesses. Here’s what you need to know:
How it all started: State law allows cities and towns to set different property tax rates for residents and businesses. However, the amount of tax increases for businesses is limited, with a maximum of 175% of the tax rate that would apply if residents and businesses were at the same tax rate. (Due to that restriction, Wu said, an expected decline in office values could force the city to raise residents’ property tax rates to make up for lost tax revenue, or increase the rate of service taxes.) What will happen: Mr. Wu’s original plan will likely be as follows: We raised that limit to 200% and then brought it back to 175% over five years. After negotiations with the House of Commons, she agreed 190% with a three-year ramp-down. Now, a new agreement with business leaders allows the city to rise to 181.5%. It also sets aside $45 million to offset tax increases on small businesses and increases the personal property tax exemption threshold for small businesses from $10,000 to $30,000. What happens next: Mr. Wu must file a petition for new home rule rules that must be approved by the Boston City Council, both chambers of the state Legislature and Gov. Maura Healey. Most importantly, the deal has already received support from Senate President Karen Spilka, who blocked Wu’s original proposal in Congress. What does this mean for homeowners? Wu’s office says that under the new agreement, the average Boston homeowner with an $838,000 home The $5,500 property tax bill will increase by $491, which will be spread over next year’s January and April property tax bills. (The city previously announced that the average increase would be $768 at the current tax limit of 175%, but if it were raised to 190%, as Wu wants, it would be a $273 increase.) What about businesses? Or? Overall commercial real estate values are expected to decline by 7%, so even a $5 million commercial property would see its nominal tax bill fall from $126,350 last year to $122,304 this year. The big picture: Business leaders believe this may have been just the first chapter in the debate over generating tax revenue in an era of hybrid work and declining office building values. Greg Vasil, CEO of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, told WBUR’s Amy Sokoloff that he believes “we’re in uncharted territory.” Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce President Jim Rooney supports the new plan. But he told WBUR’s John Bender the city should still rein in spending. “Otherwise, we’re back to the same conversation,” he said.
Mourning: State lawmakers are mourning the loss of a colleague this week. State Rep. Susan Williams Gifford, Republican of Wareham, died Tuesday of cancer at the age of 64. Giffords serves as a minority member of the House of Representatives and has been on Beacon Hill since 2003.
Offshore: Vineyard Wind plans to remove more blades from an existing turbine at an offshore wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts after one broke and fell off this summer. The blade manufacturer, GE Vernova, did not disclose the specific number of blades that would be removed. Vineyard Wind said it will also strengthen some of its blades “out of an abundance of caution” after recent quality inspections.
PS— This week’s episode of The Common takes a closer look at Vineyard Wind. literally! After chartering a boat with a group of journalists to visit an offshore turbine last month, WBUR’s Miriam Wasser joined Darryl C. Murphy to talk about what she saw.
