Image Credit: Freddie O’Connell / Facebook & Canva
Tennessee Conservative News Staff –
As property values continue to climb in Davidson County, some area residents say increased property taxes are making it difficult to afford to stay as continued pressure is placed on small businesses and middle-income families.
More than 300 area businesses have joined the Nashville Property Tax Coalition in response, according to the coalition’s founder Christian Paro. Many local business owners have seen taxes multiply exponentially over the previous year.
One business owner said his property taxes are more than four times higher than they were last year, increasing from around $129,000 to almost $589,000.
Davidson County recently increased property values nearly 45%. Democrat Mayor Freddie O’Connell insists that this is not about the county generating additional money but is about aligning with market value changes from the past few years.
Some argue that the city has grown too quickly to do things any differently. That growth, along with a busy tourist industry, has led to an increased demand for both residential and commercial properties.
Compounding the issue is the fact that affordable housing has become difficult to obtain. With developers building higher end housing, those in the middle have found it hard to find adequate housing that they can afford.
O’Connell has acknowledged those concerns. Both the city and state governments have begun to work through possible solutions to the problem.
Sources:
https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/nashville-coalition-property-taxes
https://fox17.com/news/local/nashvilles-missing-middle-who-can-still-afford-to-live-in-music-city
