Commercial property owners east of the Anacostia River may see their real estate tax bills slashed almost in half if a new bill introduced by the D.C. Council advances.

Council members  Jack Evans, D-Ward 2,  Kenyan McDuffie, D-Ward 5,  Trayon White, D-Ward 8, and  Vincent Gray, D-Ward 7, have co-introduced a bill that would tax commercial properties east of the river at the same rate as residential properties.

Gray, the former D.C. mayor who began a new term as a councilman this month, said lowering the tax rate for Class 2 properties from $1.65 per $100 of assessed value to the residential, Class 1 rate of $0.85 per $100 would boost the economy in Wards 7 and 8, two of the District’s more economically challenged areas.