4 ms·

This is the case for the city of Boston. The city derives the vast majority of its budget from commercial property taxes, it's why residential property taxes ar

This is the case for the city of Boston. The city derives the vast majority of its budget from commercial property taxes, it's why residential property taxes are so low in the city. Use to work for a company that was literally told by the city that if they don't have X amount of people in the building they will lose their tax incentives they got for having the company there. The company slowly mandated hybrid then RTO everyday in about 6 months. Got out 2 weeks before it was implemented. My coworkers were extremely jealous that I got a WFH job. Doubt Boston is alone in these propositions

kortilla 2y ago
Why would the city care about number of people in the office if they are deriving the money from commercial property taxes?
- azemetre 2y ago
  I don't understand the complete calculus but Boston is facing a $500mil shortfall and the mayor is increasing taxes to makeup the shortfall: https://news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-report/boston-residents-face-28-tax-increase-as-office-values-slump https://news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-report/boston-reside... I think part of the equation is that less people are going into the office so values of buildings are going down, less people in downtown the less money that goes to all the restaurants/shops/stores during the week. I can't speak for other cities since I don't live in them but Boston has never really recovered from the pandemic in terms of office workers.
- mvanbaak 2y ago
  - public transport - spending money in local stores - spending money on housing - spending money on local child care - etc etc etc
- bongodongobob 2y ago
  Why would the city care if no one is working downtown?
  - graton 2y ago
    People being downtown are people more likely to spend money downtown then someone who lives in the suburbs and doesn't come to downtown. Therefore more sales taxes collected, more businesses in downtown, etc...
  - insane_dreamer 2y ago
    Ends up destroying downtown (downward spiral)
  - coliveira 2y ago
    It's not just downtown that matters, it is the total population living in the city. People working from home will live away from Boston or other major cities. If they need to work in a downtown office the same people will be forced to live in Boston or close by.
  - EasyMark 2y ago
    Because that’s what feeds local businesses especially shops and service oriented jobs. I’m not saying I care that happens because remote workers can do that closer to their home so it’s a net zero game, but not in the eyes of business owners downtown or the mayors of said downtowns.
  - mncharity 2y ago
    For Boston in particular, governmental borders are close to downtown. The city is composed of several unconsolidated abutting Towns and Cities. The City of Boston[1] mostly extends from downtown to the south-west. So MIT/Harvard are Town of Cambridge, not City of Boston. Downtown-vs-suburb revenue tensions extend into the city. For analogy, imagine the historical City of New York (Manhattan and Bronx) never consolidated with the City of Brooklyn and the city and towns of Queens County, to form a City of Greater New York. WFH Queens would be as bad for Manhattan as WFH New Jersey. Not only loss of going-to-work-associated revenue, but little home-associated. As it is, the mayor vocally pushed for back-to-office (real-estate interests are powerful in NYC, transit budget income, CRE better-vacant-than-cheaper dysfunction, etc). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neighborhoods_in_Boston https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neighborhoods_in_Boston
  - 2y ago
- albedoa 2y ago
  The value of office buildings don't come from nowhere — they come from being used as office buildings.
harshaw 2y ago
What company?

kortilla 2y ago

Why would the city care about number of people in the office if they are deriving the money from commercial property taxes?

azemetre 2y ago
I don't understand the complete calculus but Boston is facing a $500mil shortfall and the mayor is increasing taxes to makeup the shortfall: https://news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-report/boston-residents-face-28-tax-increase-as-office-values-slump https://news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-report/boston-reside... I think part of the equation is that less people are going into the office so values of buildings are going down, less people in downtown the less money that goes to all the restaurants/shops/stores during the week. I can't speak for other cities since I don't live in them but Boston has never really recovered from the pandemic in terms of office workers.
mvanbaak 2y ago
- public transport - spending money in local stores - spending money on housing - spending money on local child care - etc etc etc
bongodongobob 2y ago
Why would the city care if no one is working downtown?
- graton 2y ago
  People being downtown are people more likely to spend money downtown then someone who lives in the suburbs and doesn't come to downtown. Therefore more sales taxes collected, more businesses in downtown, etc...
- insane_dreamer 2y ago
  Ends up destroying downtown (downward spiral)
- coliveira 2y ago
  It's not just downtown that matters, it is the total population living in the city. People working from home will live away from Boston or other major cities. If they need to work in a downtown office the same people will be forced to live in Boston or close by.
- EasyMark 2y ago
  Because that’s what feeds local businesses especially shops and service oriented jobs. I’m not saying I care that happens because remote workers can do that closer to their home so it’s a net zero game, but not in the eyes of business owners downtown or the mayors of said downtowns.
- mncharity 2y ago
  For Boston in particular, governmental borders are close to downtown. The city is composed of several unconsolidated abutting Towns and Cities. The City of Boston[1] mostly extends from downtown to the south-west. So MIT/Harvard are Town of Cambridge, not City of Boston. Downtown-vs-suburb revenue tensions extend into the city. For analogy, imagine the historical City of New York (Manhattan and Bronx) never consolidated with the City of Brooklyn and the city and towns of Queens County, to form a City of Greater New York. WFH Queens would be as bad for Manhattan as WFH New Jersey. Not only loss of going-to-work-associated revenue, but little home-associated. As it is, the mayor vocally pushed for back-to-office (real-estate interests are powerful in NYC, transit budget income, CRE better-vacant-than-cheaper dysfunction, etc). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neighborhoods_in_Boston https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neighborhoods_in_Boston
- 2y ago
albedoa 2y ago
The value of office buildings don't come from nowhere — they come from being used as office buildings.

harshaw 2y ago

What company?