Property owners in the U.S. shell out substantial-sometimes huge-amounts of cash on property taxes every year, and those taxes only increase as a building changes hands at a higher price and becomes more appealing to investors. The fact that the top taxpaying buildings in the U.S. are located in Manhattan won't necessarily come as a shock, either, but the difference in numbers might. The New York City commercial real estate market remains the destination of choice for national and offshore investors alike, and some of the largest corporations in the world are based there. So it makes sense that Big Apple property owners would pay sky-high amounts in taxes-but the numbers are much higher than you think. Take the General Motors Building, for instance: Boston Properties spends more than $71 million on taxes alone for its Fifth Avenue office building. That's an excessively high price in itself, but when you compare it with property taxes paid elsewhere in the U.S., that number seems downright outrageous. However, there are a few properties outside of New York that also fork over big wads of cash on taxes every year. Some you'll recognize, and some might surprise you, but they all earned a spot on our list of the top 100 taxpaying properties in the U.S.
We used public records to compile a list of the 100 buildings that commanded the highest property taxes in the U.S. in 2016 (see 'Methodology' for details). The results are a mixed bag: our list includes office buildings, apartment buildings, mall and entertainment parks and industrial properties, scattered across nine different states. The Avenue of the Americas seems to be the most expensive street in the U.S.-15 properties on our list are located here, commanding a total of $443 million in property taxes in 2016. In fact, 83 out of the top 100 taxpaying buildings are located in Manhattan, shelling out a combined $2 billion in property taxes last year. Check out the full list below:
