Letter: Tax welfare

To the editor:

The past decade has not been kind to our city. Compared to our peer cities, we have remained at or near the bottom in regards to wages and economic growth while our cost of living and tax burden continues to increase. The abusive use of tax abatements and special (stealth) tax districts has been a major contributor to our stagnated growth.

Within the past year, tax abatements have been awarded to developers of luxury apartments and rent-controlled housing. As the city’s taxpayers are subsidizing luxury housing, existing rental vacancies have continued to increase. Vacancy rates would not be increasing if rental housing were not overbuilt. All real estate values are negatively affected when there is an oversupply of rental housing.

Rent-controlled housing would not exist without taxpayer subsidy. By adding tax abatements to an existing subsidized housing project, taxpayers are subsidizing the subsidized.

At best, luxury apartments and/or rent-controlled housing will produce a minimum number of low-wage jobs. Plus, there is no guarantee that any developer future profits will remain within our city.

Our city’s Public Incentives Review Committee is once again recommending that the public provide tax abatements for the privately owned Eldridge Hotel. Taxpayers (the many) will once again be asked to increase their tax burdens in order to benefit wealthy (the few).

We cannot allow our elected officials to continue the abusive practice of benefiting the wealthy at the expense of the diminishing middle class. Please vote.