The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance today condemned House leadership, including Minority Leader Brad Jones, for failing to stand against a controversial tax bill that paves the way for dramatic tax increases on Boston’s commercial properties.

The legislation, which the House approved Monday morning in a sparsely attended informal session, grants Boston new authority to further shift its tax burden onto the city’s commercial tax base to support a large budget increase. Per the legislature’s website, informal sessions are supposed to be reserved for routine and noncontroversial matters only.

“This vote represents a betrayal of taxpayers, businesses, and anyone who values a vibrant and competitive economy in Boston. Instead of standing up for the hard-working entrepreneurs and small business owners who are the backbone of our capital city, House leadership allowed this reckless bill to sail through. This is not leadership; it’s complicity in a tax-and-spend agenda that threatens our economy. House Minority Leader Brad Jones was at this morning’s session and had the power to stop this tax hike bill but declined to act. His decision not to take a stand for a fiscally responsible solution that would include spending cuts instead of putting taxpayers on the hook for a spending problem is tantamount to an endorsement of the policy,” said Paul Diego Craney, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance.

The bill would allow Boston to enact a dramatic reworking of its commercial tax structure, increasing the tax burden on businesses without requiring the broader fiscal discipline necessary to address the city’s dramatic increases in spending. MassFiscal and other organizations have warned that the move will further harm the city’s already struggling downtown, deter investment, and erode Boston’s competitiveness at a time when commercial real estate vacancies are already alarmingly high.

“At a time when Boston businesses are still recovering from the economic challenges of the past few years, this bill sends the wrong message. It says that City Hall sees businesses not as partners in prosperity but as an ATM to fund new spending. Allowing Boston to bypass traditional taxpayer protections will inevitably embolden other cities and towns to follow suit. This is a slippery slope toward unchecked local taxation and an even less competitive Massachusetts economy,” said Craney.

“House leadership has failed to do its job,” Craney concluded. “It’s now up to the Senate to restore some semblance of sanity to our state’s lack of spending restraint. Boston’s economic future depends on it.”