by Rod Williams, May 6, 2026 - The Financial Times has published an article addressing the rising cost of living in Nashville, focusing on rising property taxes. The article is behind a paywall and reading it is not worth the hassle of registering in order to get your one free article. For any informed Nashvillian, the article does not tell you anything you don't already know. It is the fact that it is in the Financial Times and the story will reach a wider audience that is newsworthy, not what the article says.
To summarize the piece, property taxes have increased substantially, and some locals are being priced out of the city. A lot of people who live here could not afford to buy here if they did not already own their own home. Local businesses as well as residents are being hit. Unfortunately, the article implies that the problem is not a bloated city government, but that we do not have an income tax. The politician they chose to feature in addressing the issue of Nashville's affordability is woke socialist Rep. Aftyn Behn.
Here is an excerpt:
‘An Existential Crisis’: Residents Pay for Nashville Boom
Claire Jones in Nashville and Ian Hodgson in Washington, Financial Times, Published May 4 2026 -After a long career in show business, Tom Morales was looking forward to leaving Acme Feed & Seed, his Nashville music venue, to his children. But a letter from the city last October changed everything.
Morales’s property taxes had jumped from $129,000 a year to $589,000. “You just open up the envelope and say, ‘What? This can’t be right,’” said Morales. “Having a business you can give to your kids is something you dream about. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve just ruined their lives.’”
“We were thinking it would go up 30, 40 per cent; I could never have imagined it was going to go up 380 or 400 per cent,” added his daughter, Lauren.
Morales is not alone. Nashville has transformed over the past decade as big business and new residents moved in, lured by Tennessee’s zero income tax rate and a booming tourism economy. (read more)
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