District Class 3 Property Tax Rate to Focus on BLIGHT not Merely Vacant PropertiesIn a complicated , convoluted, roller-coaster ride of a debate with numerous twists and turns, the DC Council on Tuesday heard our cries and ELIMINATED the CLASS 3 property tax rate on VACANT properties, and created a new CLASS 3 property which focuses on BLIGHTED properties.
Effective October 1, the District appears to be out of the business of identifying merely Vacant building and lots, and now appropriately will begin focusing on identifying BLIGHTED buildings.
Effective October 1, the District appears to be out of the business of identifying merely Vacant building and lots, and now appropriately will begin focusing on identifying BLIGHTED buildings.
The Class 1 Property Tax Rate for Residential Properties will be $0.85 per $100 of assessed value.
The Class 2 Property Tax Rate for Commercial Properties will be $1.85 per $100 of assessed value.
The Class 3 Property Tax Rate for BLIGHTED Properties will be $10.00 per $100 of assessed value.
Since the relevant amendments and legislative language were created on the fly from the Council dais on the fourth reading of the budget, the actual legislative language that passed has not been made public and is likely to be quite messy and will need clarification.
We will definitely keep you posted as this discussion moves forward, but for now, let's just enjoy the moment that our long, hard-fought efforts have succeeded (for now) and the District will begin to focus their attention on BLIGHTED properties, not merely vacant ones. Hopefully, that will keep your clients from being ensnared in a higher property tax rate for merely vacant properties.
Below are links to articles from the Washington Business Journal, The City Paper, and a press release from Council Member Tommy Wells on the issue.
Council Member Wells Press Release
