CANADA
Vancouver needs a 9% annual property tax hike to balance the books
Daily Hive
Got an extra $116 lying around? A new report set to go before Vancouver City Hall suggests that an average property tax increase of 9% annually would be needed to balance the budget in the years ahead. And that would mean property owners would be forced to pay up.
NATIONAL
Commercial Real Estate Reset Is Causing Distress From San Francisco to Hong Kong
Bloomberg
In New York and London, owners of gleaming office towers are walking away from their debt rather than pouring good money after bad. The landlords of downtown San Francisco's largest mall have abandoned it. A new Hong Kong skyscraper is only a quarter leased. The creeping rot inside commercial real estate is like a dark seam running through the global economy.
Midwest American Cities Are Facing a Downtown Crisis, Urban Doom Loop
Business Insider
You may have heard that America's cities are in trouble. From the "death of downtowns" to the "urban doom loop," the plight of America's superstar metros — and their central business districts in particular — have been a frequent source of concern for economists, politicians, and commentators.
Agricultural Land Is Becoming an Investment Vehicle for the Rich
Jacobin
While the large-scale sugarcane plantations that dominated the local economy for more than a century have all been shuttered, agricultural land remains a hot commodity on the rural Hawaiian island of Kauai. Thousands of acres of farms and pastures once held by scions of plantation-era aristocracy are being gobbled up by new-money billionaires and global investment firms.
Office Owners Get Dire Warning: Rebound Unlikely Before 2040
Bloomberg
US office buildings are unlikely to regain their peak pre-pandemic values until at least 2040 as demand for desk space weakens. Values are expected to plunge 35% from the peak by the end of 2025 and take an additional 15 years or more to recover as hybrid and remote work reshape real estate, the London-based research firm reported Thursday.
ALABAMA
County signs off on tax break for $350M overhaul to Walmart Distribution Center
Cullman Times
Walmart's recommitment to the Cullman area as a vital link in its regional supply chain got a vote of confidence from local leaders this week, as the Cullman County Commission signed off on the necessary tax abatement to assure the company can carry out its upcoming distribution center overhaul.
COLORADO
Routt County receives three times as many property valuation appeals as usual
SteamboatToday.com
Longtime local Realtor Jon Wade said the Routt County notice of property valuation he received in late spring that showed the value of his home in the Fish Creek area was “spot on.” Nevertheless, Wade talked with about 140 fellow homeowners in Routt County in May who thought their property valuations were too high. So, the broker-owner of The Steamboat Group set out to educate those homeowners.
NEW JERSEY
NJ Democrats' tax cut plan: Some love it, others suspicious
NJ1015
The StayNJ property tax relief plan for seniors, unveiled on Wednesday by Gov. Phil Murphy and legislative leaders, is getting a big thumbs up from an organization representing older Garden State residents. Evelyn Liebman, the director of advocacy for AARP New Jersey said it's a very positive development a compromised deal was reached to bring property tax relief to the state's older residents.
TEXAS
HB 5 Signed in Allowing Texas Schools to Abate Property Taxes
NatLawReview
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has signed HB 5 into law, enacting a new economic development incentives program that allows Texas school districts to abate property taxes in exchange for capital investment and job creation. This new program, dubbed “Chapter 403,” replaces the former program, “Chapter 313,” which ran for 20-plus years until the legislature allowed it to sunset at the end of 2022.
State House committee studying tax relief for 2025
wfaa.com
Since the 88th Legislature's first special session started, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan has ignored the Texas Senate plan to reduce property taxes. The Senate wants to increase the homestead exemption. However, last week, Phelan said he would study it, and announced the Select Study Committee on Sustainable Property Tax Relief.
Galveston Braces for $160 Million Blow to Tax Base Amidst Wave of Appraisal Protests
PelhamPlus
As a result, the city's general fund revenue could suffer a blow of up to $700,000, according to administrators. During a recent workshop, the city's finance department presented funding projections to the city council, highlighting the imminent funding challenges that City Manager Brian Maxwell labeled as unsustainable.
VIRGINIA
A private golf course didn't pay taxes for almost 2 decades. Portsmouth City Council is questioning why.
PilotOnline
Records reviewed by The Pilot, including those recently provided to City Council by Interim City Assessor Janey Culpepper, show then-owner Elizabeth Manor Corporation first entered the golf course into the program in 1979. Records show taxes for the golf course were charged and then completely refunded from at least 2003 until 2017.