"We are opposed to the Community Preservation Act," David Begelfer, CEO of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, tells GlobeSt.com. NAIOP is part of the Vote No on Higher Taxes Committee, which is battling the referendum. "This comes at a time when businesses can least afford it." Begelfer points out that any increase in taxes gets passed to small tenants and apartment dwellers and he adds that the "surcharge is over and above any increase that the city already has planned."

Commercial real estate property owners will also shoulder most of the burden of this tax, according to Begelfer, as 80% of real estate taxes in the city are paid by commercial real estate property owners. "This is the wrong time to hit the business community," he says. "Everyone can clearly see the problems in the economy and everyone is concerned about where the economy is going."

But Albert Rex, executive director of the Boston Preservation Alliance and a member of the Committee to Build a Better Boston, a coalition of groups that support the act, insists that the Community Preservation Act will ultimately benefit businesses in the city. He points out that many local small businesses are part of his coalition and they "don't object to their taxes going up. They're losing their client base who are moving out because they can't afford housing. The Community Preservation Act will create new housing units for their constituents."