Providence drops to 4th in commercial-property tax burden

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Providence is no longer number one in commercial property taxes.
The city levied the fourth highest tax burden on commercial properties last year, down from the highest burden in the country in 2012, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence said in a report issued Wednesday.
Detroit returned to the top of the commercial property tax rankings in 2013, the Lincoln report said, with Des Moines, Iowa second and Philadelphia third, just ahead of the Rhode Island capital. Bridgeport, Conn., rounded out the top five for properties of $100,000, but was replaced by Minneapolis in properties worth $1 million.
In 2012, Providence ranked first, ahead of Detroit, Des Moines, Chicago and New York, in estimated tax for an office building worth $100,000. (Minneapolis replaced New York on that list for $1 million properties.)
Ridding the city of the highest-tax distinction was an objective of Providence Mayor Angel Taveras, who touted the new rankings in his annual budget address Tuesday.
Taveras and the City Council froze commercial property taxes in fiscal 2014, while raising residential rates. His fiscal 2015 budget proposal includes no rate hikes for either classification.
Estimated property taxes on a $100,000 commercial property in 2013, according to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence:

  • Detroit: $4,895
  • Des Moines, Iowa: $4,689
  • Philadelphia: $4,626
  • Providence: $4,519
  • Bridgeport, Conn.: $4,301

    The full report can be viewed here.

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