Focus on Municipal Assessment & Taxation
Boston, Massachusetts is an example of a city that has dangled millions of dollars in tax breaks in front of companies settling in the Innovation District in the South Boston Waterfront. A policy such as this has become so common over the last 50 years that governments are routinely forgoing up to $10 billion in revenue every year. However, there is little evidence that property tax incentives actually work – either in the decision-making process for companies choosing their locations, in terms of promised economic activity or new jobs. Research by authors Daphne Kenyon, Adam Langley and Bethany Paquin have showed that three obstacles impede the success of property tax incentives.