Real estate transfer tax rates must be set high enough to be effective in deterring speculation. Increased taxes, however, often get passed on from property owners to tenants in the form of higher rents. In many BIPOC communities where commercial vacancy rates are already high, vacancy taxes can exacerbate existing inequities. A vacancy tax could, for example, negatively impact BIPOC property owners who are struggling to maintain their commercial property because of lack of access to capital. Because there is often no means of appeal, vacancy taxes can disparately impact property owners who do not have the resources to navigate city processes. Vacancy taxes are more effective at protecting small businesses in rapidly developing neighborhoods, where speculation is common. Both taxes can compound existing barriers to property ownership by BIPOC business owners, because they raise upfront and ongoing costs of ownership.