After tax vote, Murray says Worcester will draft plan for single rate in 2015
Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce President Timothy Murray: Getting to a single tax rate has “to be done over time, given the political and fiscal situation."
In an 8-3 roll call vote Tuesday night, Worcester city councilors inched closer to a single-tax rate, setting the fiscal 2015 property levy for businesses at $31.73 per $1,000 assessed valuation.
The new rate marked continued progress by the City Council, which in the last four years has lowered the burden on business property owners. Five years ago, the city taxed businesses for commercial, industrial and personal property at a factor of 1.75 — the maximum allowed by state law — because of a resistance to increase the tax burden on residents.
In fiscal 2015, the factor is 1.3535, a modest decrease from last year’s 1.3556. But it still shows progress toward a factor of 1, which means one rate for Worcester.
Timothy Murray, president and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, presented the case for reducing the burden on commercial taxpayers at Tuesday’s hearing, supported by several members of the business community.
In an interview Wednesday morning, Murray noted that most of the chamber’s 2,500 members are located within the city, with 83 percent being small businesses with 10 or fewer employees. To those businesses, Murray said, taxes are a significant expense.
“They’re dealing with regulatory mandates the state and fed government have put on them … recently with sick time, and others,” Murray said, adding that the tax rate is one expense the City Council can help control.
Meanwhile, the residential tax rate was set at $20.07. For both residents and businesses, the average tax bill is expected to increase in fiscal 2015 (which ends June 30) by $107 for the average single-family home, and $300 for the average commercial property owner.
Murray and the chamber had supported a slightly more aggressive reduction in the commercial rate than what the council approved Tuesday, advocating for a commercial rate of $31.20 and a residential rate of $20.29. But he recognized the delicate balance the City Council must strike in setting tax rates, since moving toward a single tax rate creates a larger burden for residents.
“I think we recognize it’s got to be done over time, given the political and fiscal situation,” Murray said.
But he hopes the city will get to a single rate in five to 10 years. To that end, the council asked Mayor Joseph Petty and Murray to work together in 2015 to design a structured plan to achieve a single tax rate, and Murray said a group will be formed in the coming year to take on that task.
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