Testimony Being Taken By Senate Committee on Ways and Means
Two Senate proposals aimed at delivering property tax relief to homeowners are currently being reviewed by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means after advancing in the Senate last week.
S.1933, An Act to Prevent Property Tax Bill Shocks, filed by Senator Will Brownsberger, would allow municipalities to phase in significant residential tax increases over several quarters and provide targeted relief to seniors, low-income residents, and others most vulnerable to residential property tax increases.
S.1935, An Act Relative to Municipal Tax Relief, filed by Senator Nick Collins, would authorize municipalities to issue uniform rebates to homeowners using surplus revenue. This would provide immediate relief to residential property owners without undermining fiscal stability.
The City of Boston’s budget has grown 26% over the last four years. With the City refusing to reel in spending, they have decided to increase taxes on commercial property owners and homeowners. Boston property tax increases for 2026 have been set for homeowners at the following rates: $12.40 per $1,000 in value for residential and $26.96 per $1,000 in value for commercial. Both represent an unnecessary increase over last year.
According to Evan Horowitz, Executive Director of the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University, the City is “choosing to raise tax rates and pretending that it’s not a choice at all, that they’re being forced to do it and someone should rescue them.”
Furthermore, while the City continues to raise taxes on residential and commercial property owners, they are currently sitting on over $552 million in reserves.
The Senate bills are focused on providing relief to residential property owners to mitigate municipal property tax increases on homeowners by leveraging the City’s substantial taxpayer reserves.
The goal of the Senate bills is to provide municipalities with the tools to provide real relief for residential taxpayers without harming small businesses or putting the economy at risk. With affordability on everyone’s minds, increasing the tax burden unnecessarily on homeowners and businesses to perpetuate exponential and irresponsible spending increases is unacceptable.
The Senate Committee on Ways and Means will receive written testimony on legislation related to municipal property taxes beginning Thursday, December 11, 2025, through Monday, December 29, 2025, at 5 p.m. The public is encouraged to participate by submitting written testimony via email to SenateCommittee.Ways&Means@masenate.gov.