This virtual event gives small business owners the chance to hear directly from procurement officers about opportunities to work with them.
05/29/2025
12:00pm - 1:00pm
Virtual
Join us for an exclusive networking event at the Museum of Fine Arts and enjoy self-guided tours of John Wilson and Van Gogh, showcasing the deep bond of family, friendship, and community.
06/05/2025
5:30pm - 8:30pm
Museum of Fine Arts
The Transportation First Series offers a platform to discuss the challenges faced by our region, with the input of experts and changemakers.
06/12/2025
2:45pm - 4:30pm
Hybrid | Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce
This program is in redevelopment. Click this page for DEI resources.
Our Women’s Leadership Program enables you to take your leadership to the next level by arming you with the most in-demand leadership toolkit.
Our Boston’s Future Leaders (BFL) program provides emerging leaders with a socially conscious and civically engaged leadership toolkit, as well as the opportunity to apply their knowledge through experiential assignments.
Join us on June 12 for a highly interactive virtual workshop with Strategic Career & Leadership Coach Carole-Ann Penney.
City Awake empowers young professionals in a variety of ways that encourages these rising leaders to stay invested in the region’s future success.
We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).
Small businesses are the backbone of the Boston economy. Learn more about the resources available through the Chamber.
BIMA (the Boston Interactive Media Association) serves a vibrant community of like-minded professionals from agencies, brands, publishers, and ad-tech companies with business interests in the New England market.
For over 30 years, the Chamber’s Women’s Network has connected female professionals of all background and career levels. Today, our Women’s Network is the largest in New England, strengthening the professional networks of women each year.
The Massachusetts Apprentice Network convenes employers, training providers, and talent sources interested in developing and implementing apprenticeship programs in occupations across industries and statewide in fields such as tech, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, and more.
Explore our mission and values to better understand how we are leading the business community forward.
Our member directory is your resource to discover, connect, and engage with Boston’s businesses from every industry and sector.
June 17, 2024
Our coalition, representing thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of individuals, shares the Legislature’s goal of addressing the immediate need to increase Massachusetts’ housing supply and affordability. Transfer taxes in any form will not support these goals. Transfer taxes hurt potential homebuyers by reducing inventory1 and applying pressure on home prices below tax carve outs. In a hot market, this increases home prices. In a cool market, it strips homeowners of equity, with the gravest consequences effecting seniors. Transfer taxes also harm commercial assets, further decreasing the value of properties already significantly devalued in recent years.
Creating new taxes, especially on housing, runs counter to the recently enacted historic tax relief package aimed at increasing the state’s affordability and competitiveness. It is also unnecessary. Municipalities do not need new revenue sources to increase housing affordability. Instead, they need to utilize available revenue streams and permit more development to serve all income levels.
Better Municipal Solutions Exist. Massachusetts created the Community Preservation Act (CPA) in 2000 as a tool to help communities fund affordable housing. It creates a local property tax surcharge of up to three percent, a state funding match derived from a registry surcharge paid by homebuyers, and potential affordable housing allocation of up to 80%. It has generated over $2.5 billion in funding that could have been allocated to affordable housing. However, only 53% of communities currently use the CPA, and significantly fewer are maximizing their surcharge or affordable housing allocations.
Taxing homes and apartments stifles housing diversity and inclusivity. A sales tax on real estate decreases housing supply, magnifying an already severe inventory shortage, and increasing prices for homes below the tax threshold. If advanced, a transfer tax will do the most harm to the middle class, who, for example, already face a $1 million price tag for the average home in Greater Boston. Taxing homes and apartments will increase income stratification, raising the already expensive market rate price to become a homeowner or renter. Ultimately, in response to transfer taxes, people stay in their houses longer to the detriment of their welfare, social mobility, and the real estate market writ-large. Transfer taxes lock-in the status quo, discriminating against those looking to enter communities in favor of current residents, thus limiting community diversity and inclusivity.
We urge the Senate to oppose creating a sales tax on homes and commercial real estate, and instead advance policies that increase housing production at all income levels to meet the need of our residents and our businesses.
Thank you for your consideration of our comments.
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