Special to the Gazette
City Councilor Brian Worrell (District 4) introduced a home-rule petition to increase the senior homeowner tax exemption, which would increase the amount of the exemption and update the income restrictions for seniors in the city.
“Our seniors are really feeling the burden of the tax shift from commercial properties to residents with increased property tax bills,” Councilor Worrell said. “We need to do all we can to help our seniors, many of whom are on a fixed income and have seen their valuations and tax bills soar over the past decades.”
The legislation would increase the exemption from $500 to $1,500 and would increase the income eligibility for seniors to 50% of the Area Media Income. The petition previously passed the City Council in March 2022 as part of a larger piece of legislation, but it stalled at the Legislature. The new petition would resubmit the exemption as a standalone legislation.
“The changes to this exemption would allow thousands of more seniors to be eligible for this property tax relief,” Worrell said.
As chair of the Committee on Ways & Means, Worrell also co-sponsored a home-rule petition from City Councilor Erin Murphy to increase the maximum owner-occupied residential exemption allowed by state law from 35 percent to 40 percent.
“We need to be doing everything we can to help our Boston homeowners,” Worrell said. “I was in support of last year’s compromise on the commercial tax shift, and I’m also in support of this. These are similar tools that ultimately would be shielding our homeowners from large property tax hikes.”