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HomeMy Public PortalAboutFISCAL YEAR 2015 TAX CLASSIFICATION HEARING_201501061418169407 7 I 0 ! z L v ui N Z d- t o C\jLO F LU �I w a LL vt _ o cl) z U) Cl)LL _ a J C� H Fiscal Year 2015 Tax Classification November 25, 2014 Tax Rates and the Commercial Shift The first step in setting the tax rate is to determine the tax levy or that amount of money that is to be raised by real and personal property taxation. FY 14 levy $ 82,592,980 includes debt service start FY 14 levy limit _ _$ 82,314,930 + 2.50% $ 2,057,873 + New Growth $ 2,115,874 • - - ----- - -- - - - - - - -- -- - - - - - -- - - -- - - - -- FY 15 levy limit $ 86,488,677 + Debt Service $ 226,620 _ under lever limit_ _ _ _ _$_ _ _ _ _ caused by rounding a 6.03%increase over FY 15 levy $ 86,708,897.31 Fiscal 2014 The second step in setting the tax rate is to determine what percentage share of the tax levy each class of property will bear. For Watertown, there are essentially two property types or classes that collectively raise the levy: Residential CommerciaUIndustrial &Personal Property (CIP) Very simply stated, the tax rate is determined by dividing the total amount of taxes (levy) to be raised by the total taxable valuation of all real and personal property as determined by the Assessors. For example: For Fiscal Year 2015 the Watertown tax levy of$86,708,897.31 divided by the total value of all real and personal property of $5,444,172,323 yields a tax rate of $15.93 per thousand dollars of valuation. This calculation results in what is known as the flat or single tax rate. Massachusetts Law permits cities and towns to classify property according to use or property type, and to establish separate tax rates for the different classes. Historically, like many cities and towns, Watertown has chosen to split or"shift"the flat rate into two rates; a residential rate and a commercial (CIP) rate. The shift in the tax rates was originally intended to help alleviate rapidly rising residential tax rates by "shifting" more of the tax burden onto the commercial(CIP) class. Pagel a) rn m n co � rn •z N Y R U 0 a 'O M G1 7 O N ` C N R fR.1 O O M 1�- O P� r C> W 00 M ti ti ti N m M tO J O O 1 00 00 CO O N E 0; N r, Ln 00 CO Ln OA O) W O r LO r- 00 N r 00 M LO M O r d' N 1�- 00 N N N N LO EA (6 O 64 00 00 E!} Ef). 00 00 1%- ^ 40 6c? 64% Ef)- O V 00 Z � o p O N N J E O N L E �, •E - V ; ; o mco m �, L m m Q LO � � r -°'a U L}L U- Q Z LLLi a U. U. 3 + + u + u N a v a M C o, qr- N N co r— O N � LO OR (IR 1� i� 7 LO 7 N � O co o t- Originally the law permitted the flat or single rate to be shifted by up to 150%. So the flat tax rate of $15.93 per thousand could be as high as $23.90 for the CIP class resulting in a lower tax rate for the residential class. Later in the 1980's the legislature amended the law to allow for a shift of up to 175% and more recently in Fiscal Year 2004 the shift ceiling was placed at 200% with a sunset clause that expired in Fiscal Year 2009. Over a long period of time, residential property values have risen much more rapidly than commercial property values and without these shifts, residential property owners would today be paying considerably more in real estate taxes than they are today in towns like Watertown that have a split tax rate. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: Certain suburban and rural towns have a third split in the tax rate for"open space"which permits a lower tax rate for vacant parcels (of which Watertown has very few) to help alleviate development pressure and preserve farmland and woodlands. The Watertown experience Chart A on the following page shows the history of residential and commercial tax rates for the last seventeen fiscal years and the corresponding shifts that were voted in those years. During the late 1990's, the commercial shift continued to increase until it reached the 175% ceiling in Fiscal Year 2002. Without these shifts, the average residential tax bill would have seen much bigger increases. Soon after the ceiling was hit, you can see that residential tax bills suddenly jumped up because shifting the commercial rate up was no longer an option. Over the past year, residential values have begun to appreciate with revaluation increases occurring in most of our residential uses town wide. The primary assessment increases have occurred in residential apartment buildings on Pleasant Street and Waltham Street. The town wide residential class appreciated from calendar year 2013 into 2014, as a result of the progress associated with the ongoing apartment developments. This appreciation within the residential apartment class (Use 112: 9 units or greater)will continue to grow with the completion of Summer Street. Commercial, Industrial and Personal Property (CIP) values are stable town wide. The 2013 sales of the Arsenal on the Charles, Arsenal Mall and associated parcels have the Board of Assessors intrigued with the future development of that area. Commercial land values have increased due to the numerous high sales prices that have occurred in the Arsenal market area. Personal Property new growth dropped 25% from $338,779 to $258,964 for FY 15. The drop in Personal Property new growth is attributed to less new machinery coming on line. The Board of Assessors expects the Personal Property new growth to return to more historic averages in next year's revaluation. The successful renovation of the old Boston Biomedical site to Riverworks Watertown Holdings along Pleasant and Bridge Streets alone will bring much needed Personal Property growth for FYI 6. The vacancy dropped dramatically at this site over calendar year 2014 as a result of Farley White's successful marketing and resale of the properties fueling commercial growth with a variety of new tenants. The impact of selecting different CIP shifts is displayed on Chart A on the following page. 0 0 0 o e o e o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 01 0 0 0 0 0 ( C 0 C 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 IQ r O r r 0) tD N 00 T O r (D 00 n a N N T r C r N N N -e a) M r N <} n N N tD Ol n t n a 'ct d' d X M o) f0 M M N fD 7 r N 01 11: 07 CV C M M r a} er N NNto N 0 co N O) w n (DD (O Iq N (0 n N N o) J o) N v�, N t- N OD n r a M (D M f0 v�, v- n w 00 QX = O N (O M O N r N M -e OD r N r r M O O r r U Y Q N N N N M co M M M M Cl) le 1* 'a 'd' sr V a a R 64 V! V! V! V) to to to fo to V! V) V! V! 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VT 69 to to Y Q Ln E NNNNNNN0 N N N N NC Q 0) r N (O n co a) c} N n I N O a r N 00 0) co n 00 Z f�O X 00 a co N a 0) r M 00 r r M (O n r n O 00 Cl) co N O r N M n O) � Q) O N Cl) '7 N (D Q) r Cl) 00 O I� W t') C M M M M 4 -t 1 N N tf1 M M N N t0 N n M Y c m V! V! V! V! V! V) VJ to to es» to to V! V! V! V! V! to to to U) O O O O O O to T N O n (D O 00 tF r n 00 M 00 W m IT N (0 N O O (N tD n r IT (0 r O N N M 0 M t(I i (D M to M (D a) O M M wtD M q N 00 O (D w (D LL M r r r O N (D N N 0) t0 07 ti n O O n r r r y N O N -e 00 O r N N N D) (D 7 V � W) a a > U) N N N N N M a a 7 a a to to VJ to to Vi N Vi V) V! Vo to to fo to tH Vi Vi Vi V1 M r O Cl) r N )0 r n N m V r N O 00 to a co M A Y r N M o) (D fD M 0) - 7 M N M o) <T (D o) N tO O �a to [} M r N N O O r O r N C) M d' N N N r r r r r T r r r r r r r r r r T r r r X �-' O O a O N )0 N N (0 N N (0 10 N N N N O N N +' N r T r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r CO 0) O r N M V N t0 n 00 0) O r N M It N N N 0) o) = O O O O O O O O O r r(D NNNNN NN NT Nr Nr Nr NN N N N N r r N = fn H O i Page 4 The Residential Exemption Thirteen municipalities in Massachusetts have adopted the Residential Exemption. This provision in the law allows for a shift of the tax burden within the residential class by granting a discount to owner occupied properties. There are no age or income requirements. The only requirement is that the property owner occupy the property on January 1 of the year preceding the benefit year. So to qualify for the residential exemption for Fiscal Year 2015, the property must have been owned and occupied by the applicant on or before January 1 of 2014. The Residential Exemption discount is voted on each year by the Town Council and it can range anywhere between 1% to 30% of the average residential property assessment. Like the commercial shift, there is no loss of tax revenue for the town, but instead the tax burden is shifted from one group of taxpayers to another. Qualifying residential properties receive a tax decrease while non-qualifying residential taxpayers receive a tax increase. In order to increase the Residential Exemption discount beyond the historical 20%, the Town Council would need to take a vote for a home rule petition. If passed our state representatives would need to contact the Department of Revenue to bring this before the State legislature. If approved by the Commonwealth the option could be considered for Fiscal Year 2016. For example: If the total value of all residential property is 750 million with a tax rate of $10. per thousand, the residential class raises 7.5 million dollars in property tax revenue. Now if the average residential property is assessed for $100,000 and receives a 20% discount, the new taxable assessment becomes $80,000. This discount when applied to many qualifying properties has the effect of lowering the total assessed value of the residential property class. The same amount of tax revenue must still be collected, so now a total residential property value of 675 million must raise 7.5 million dollars and the result is an adjusted residential tax rate of$11.11 per thousand. So the qualifying property assessed for $100,000 would be discounted to $80,000 and pay $888.88 in taxes (a savings of$111.11) while a non qualifying property assessed for$100,000 will pay $1,111 (an increase of$111.11). The chart on the previous page (Chart A) shows the history of the Watertown residential exemption discount over the last sixteen years. As the average residential assessment increased over time, the exemption amount also increased, giving a greater benefit to the owner occupied qualified properties and exacting higher taxes from non-qualifying properties. With recent declines in residential values, the dollar benefit has continued to increase because the residential tax rate has increased. For Fiscal Year 2015 the Assessors are projecting 6,058 qualifying properties. Because the total tax collected from the residential class must remain the same, this has the effect of driving up the residential tax rate from a projected $13.17 per thousand with no exemption to $15.03 utilizing the historic 20% exemption discount and a CIP shift of 175% (Chart B on page 5). Fiscal Year 2015 Residential Exemption (For Owner Occupied properties) SHIFT=1.75 � Projected Tax Rates CHART B page 5 $ 13.17 $ 13.59 $ 14.04 $ 14.52 $ 15.03 $ 15.58 $ 16.17 Discount% 0% 5% 10% 16% 20% 26% 30% non non Exemption Exemption Exemption Exemption Exemption Exemption Exemption qualifying qualifying value credit 0 $ 22,582 $ 45,164 $ 67,746 $ 90,328 $ 112,910 $ 135,491 property property tax credit 0 $ 307 $ 634 $ 984 $ 1,358 $ 1,769 $ 2,191 at 20%factor at 25%factor Assessment taxes taxes taxes taxes taxes taxes taxes taxes I taxes $ 100,000 $ 1,317 $ 1,052 $ 770 $ 468 $ 145 $ - $ - $ 1,503 I $ 1,668 $ 150,000 $ 1,976 $ 1,732 $ 1.472 $ 1,194 $ 897 $ 578 $ 235 $ 2,255 I $ 2,337 low $ 20000 $ 2,634 $ 2,411 $ 2,174 $ 1,920 $ 1,648 $ 1,357 $ 1,043 $ 3,006 I $ 3,116 $ 250,000 $ 3,293 $ 3,091 $ 2,876 $ 2.646 $ 2,400 $ 2,136 $ 1,852 $ 3,768 I $ 3,895 $ 300,000 $ 3.951 $ 3,770 $ 3,678 $ 3,372 $ 3,151 $ 2,915 $ 2,660 $ 4,609 I $ 4,674 $ 360,000 $ 4,610 $ 4,450 $ 4,280 $ 4,098 $ 3,903 $ 3,694 $ 3,469 $ 5,261 I $ 5,453 $ 400,000 $ 5,268 $ 5,129 $ 4,982 $ 4,824 $ 4,654 $ 4,473 $ 4,277 $ 6,012 I $ 6,232 $ 450,000 $ 5,927 $ 5,809 $ 5,684 $ 5,550 $ 5,406 $ 5,252 $ 5,086 $ 6,764 I $ 7,011 avg $ 451,638 $ 6.948 $ 6,831 $ 6.707 $ 5,574 $ 6,430 $ 5,277 $ 6,112 $ 6,788 $ 7.037 $ 600,000 $ 6,585 $ 6,488 $ 6,386 $ 6,276 $ 6,157 $ 6,031 $ 5,894 $ 7,515 $ 7,790 $ 660,000 $ 7,244 $ 7,168 $ 7,088 $ 7,002 $ 6,909 $ 6,810 $ 6,703 $ 8,267 $ 8,569 $ 600,000 $ 7,902 $ 7,847 $ 7,790 $ 7,728 $ 7,660 $ 7,589 $ 7,511 $ 9.018 $ 9,348 $ 650,000 $ 8,561 $ 8,527 $ 8,492 $ 8,454 $ 8,412 $ 8.368 $ 8,320 $ 9,770 $ 10,127 $ 700,000 $ 9,219 $ 9,206 $ 9,194 $ 9,180 $ 9,163 $ 9,147 $ 9,128 $ 10,621 $ 10,906 high $ 760,000 $ 9,878 $ 9,886 $ 9,896 $ 9,906 $ 9.915 $ 9.926 $ 9,937 $ 11,273 $ 11,685 $ 800,000 $ 10,536 $ 10,565 $ 10,698 $ 10,632 $ 10,666 $ 10,705 $ 10,746 $ 12,024 $ 12,464 $ 850,000 $ 11,196 $ 11,246 $ 11,300 $ 11,358 $ 11,418 $ 11,484 $ 11,654 $ 12,776 $ 13,243 $ 900,000 $ 11,853 $ 11,924 $ 12,002 $ 12,084 $ 12,169 $ 12,263 $ 12,362 $ 13,527 $ 14,022 $ 1,000,000 $ 13.170 $ 13,283 $ 13,406 $ 13,636 $ 13,672 $ 13,821 $ 13,979 $ 16,030 $ 16,580 - The residential exemption amount(value credit)is based on the average residential assessment(yellow) multiplied by the chosen discount factor which can range between 1 and 30% This value credit is then subtracted from the assessed value of every qualifying property. The reduced assessment is then multipled by the tax rate that results from the selected discount factor. - Essentially,the residential exemption is funded by the non-owner occupied residential properties which are taxed at the full assessed value with no value credit. - As the property assessment increases,the tax savings from the exemption diminishes to a point where high value properties actually pay more with the residential exemption In place than without it(pink shaded area). Wh r is receivinL the benefit of the Residential E; emption? type total# exempt percent single fam. 2903 2375 81.8% condos 3426 2069 60.4% 2 family 2791 1448 51.9% 3 family 383 129 33.7% apts 4-8 uni 132 10 7.6% other 159 27 17.0% totals 9794 6058 61.9% Page 5 Page 6 Community Comparison When considering the impact of tax rates and shifts, it is useful to look beyond our borders to discover how nearby communities are dealing with similar issues. Chart C on the following page provides a view of the tax structure of other nearby cities and towns. Some of our neighbors have split tax rates while others do not. Generally, the smaller the commercial/industrial and personal property (CIP) share is of the total assessed value, the less benefit there is to shifting the tax rate. Arlington and Belmont both have very low CIP shares while Boston and Cambridge have high CIP shares. Boston and Cambridge also offer a larger residential exemption percentage which coupled with large commercial tax bases, serves to push down the average residential tax bill. While Newton does have a commercial shift, they have chosen not to utilize the residential exemption and consequently the average residential tax bill is very high. Waltham, which is most similar to Watertown in its socio- economic structure, has a much larger commercial tax base which results in a lower residential tax rate and like Watertown they also have utilized a 20%residential exemption discount in the past. Taxpayers often cite that other nearby cities and towns have lower tax rates but they fail to realize that the average residential assessments in those municipalities may be considerably higher. Just looking at the tax rate in Newton for example, a taxpayer might conclude that taxes are lower there than in Watertown. But with a much higher average assessed value, taxes in Newton are in fact much higher. 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