Winthrop holds tax classification hearing

The Winthrop Town Council quickly worked its way through a public hearing on the Fiscal Year 2027 tax classification at its meeting last week.

“The classification hearing is basically deciding if we want a split tax rate or a single tax rate,” said Deputy Assessor Kathleen Cerulli-Hickey. “Historically, Winthrop has gone with a single tax rate because … most of our businesses are mom and pop businesses, and putting the burden of a higher tax rate on businesses would not be fruitful for anybody.”

A split tax rate shifts a higher tax rate onto commercial properties, while a single tax rate maintains the same tax rate for commercial and residential properties.

“We will have a presentation at the following meeting with more specifics, but basically, I know they have always done their homework on this and looked at the differences in many cities,” said Council President Jim Letterie. “Obviously Saugus and Revere have split tax rates because there are so many businesses and it gives residents a little bit of a break.”

In Winthrop, Letterie said the assessors have looked at what a split tax rate would cost businesses versus the savings for residents. He said the average business would see its tax bill increase by up to $600, while the savings for the average homeowner would only be $10 to $15 on their bill.

“I think it was felt that it wasn’t necessarily worth it to do that and put that burden on, in a small town like this, the burden to the small businesses would be passed onto the residents in higher prices for goods and services,” said Letterie. “We always respect the information that comes before us, we have always had questions about this, do you go to a split tax rate and such, but Winthrop is one of the smallest bases in the state. Less than six percent of our tax base comes from commercial businesses, where you look at cities like Revere, Burlington, and Saugus where there are malls … and it makes so much more sense.”

The tax classification was referred to the council’s finance subcommittee, and that subcommittee will come back to the full council at a future meeting with a recommendation.