Khrystian King pitches small-business tax relief, targets unpaid corporate property taxes

By-Hank Stolz

Photo-Radio Worcester

WORCESTER, MA-Khrystian King, the Vice Chair of the Worcester City Council and a mayoral candidate, stopped by the Talk of the Commonwealth to discuss a new business initiative he will be introducing to the City Council. He details his plan for a personal property tax exemption aimed at providing relief to nearly 3,000 of the city’s smallest businesses. King said this will allow the assessor’s office to redirect resources toward collecting millions in untaxed property from larger corporations, such as Mass Electric and NStar among others. He says the new policy may identify and collect as much as $2-3 million annually in untaxed personal property from larger companies that had previously “slipped through the cracks.” The usual process for an item like this is for King to introduce it, for it to be sent to committee, and then make its way back for a full vote by the council.

The conversation also touched on King’s Mayoral campaign and the top issues facing Worcester. He addressed the city’s housing and affordability crisis, referencing his past votes in favor of “by right” accessory dwelling units and more expansive inclusionary zoning as evidence of his commitment to the issue. He called for more accountability and data-driven oversight in city government, using the city’s failure to provide street repair reports for over five years as a key example. He also pushed back at how the present City Council is portrayed in the media, including on Radio Worcester’s Radio Roundtable, as being divided. “What we are is a diverse council. This isn’t the Council of Old.”