Just saw the city's new property tax breakdown for 2024 and one number jumped out

I was looking at the city's budget page last night, and the part about the tax split between residential and non-residential properties got me. For 2024, the non-residential side is supposed to pay about 1.8 times more per dollar of value than homeowners. I knew businesses paid more, but that ratio seems high and I worry it's going to keep pushing commercial rents up, which then hurts small shops. Found it buried in a PDF on the city's financial reports site. Has anyone else dug into this and seen what it might do to prices in different areas, like Whyte Ave or the Brewery District?

2 comments

2 Comments

umab351mo ago

Actually see that split as pretty fair when you think about it. Homeowners already pay a ton through income tax and sales tax, while big box stores and office towers use way more city services like roads and sewer lines. If anything, that ratio should maybe be higher to keep our own bills down. Those commercial rents are going up mostly because of landlords and high demand for space, not just the tax rate.

bailey.sam1mo ago

Wow you actually make a really good point there. I never thought about how much more strain a packed shopping center puts on the roads and drains compared to my quiet street. It's true, our property tax bill hurts but we do get hit from all sides with other taxes too. Shifting more to commercial might force those big landlords to stop just passing every cost straight to small business tenants though.