Loopholes in New York Tax Cap proposed by Assembly

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Loopholes in New York Tax Cap proposed by Assembly

The Democratic-controlled state Assembly today released its plan to cap the growth of property taxes at 2 percent a year.

It has lot of loopholes and in now way it's going to control the rampant increase in property taxes. For example, Pension payments that grow more than 2 percent from the previous year would be exempt from the cap. How that helps? As we all know from this years budget all the money in tax levy is going towards pensions and benefits. These costs are rising year or year at 10% or more and will go exponential in near future.They are the main reason we are paying more in taxes each and losing teachers and services along the way.

State Senate signed off on Gov. Andrew Cuomo's (D-N.Y.) property tax cap proposal back in January, but it has become bogged down in the Assembly.

The new bill presented today by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver would add some exceptions for costs to be excluded from the cap, but its basic elements are similar to the legislation passed by the Senate.

The Assembly measure would exempt pension payments over 2 percent from the previous year and require 60 percent of voters to override the capped school tax levy. Also, the bill would allow for added costs if the tax base grows with more residents or businesses.

List of loopholes in NY tax cap proposal

The bill would limit increases in property taxes to 2 percent a year or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. Pension payments that grow more than 2 percent from the previous year would be exempt from the cap.
A so-called carry-over provision would allow school districts and local governments to go above the cap only if they were below it the year before.
School districts and governments would also be allowed to pierce the cap if there was growth in jobs and businesses in a community requiring more services.

Source: New12.com

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Long Island Property taxes most important issue, say LIers

No surprise here ! To stop this ridiculous rise in property taxes we have to educate our fellow LIers and contact your representative that they should demand Speaker Silver respond to the pleas of homeowners across the state and support a property tax cap in New York. It has already passed the senate but is being stalled in the Assembly by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

Also this year we are seeing some enormous rise in property taxes in school districts such as William Floyd 12.47% and Seaford 8.99%. Some school districts such as Middle country is resorting to blackmailing its residents. The deal for districts residents is either approved a 6.68% increase or the district is going to force 21.61% increase in tax levy.

Published by THOMAS MAIER at Newsday

By a wide margin, property taxes are the most important issue facing Long Islanders, according to a Newsday / News 12 Long Island / Siena Research Institute Poll. Property taxes were cited overall by 45 percent of respondents, more than twice the 21 percent who cited "availability of good jobs" as the second most pressing issue for Long Islanders. "Property taxes are really an issue here because it keeps the young people from staying on Long Island and it will prevent the older people from staying, too," Tafuri explained.

Property taxes also are a large part of why the 57 percent of those polled said Long Islanders are headed in the "wrong direction" rather than the "right track" in the poll. A similar margin said New York State was headed in the wrong direction as well.

Property taxes are a particularly raw issue in Nassau County, where 53 percent cited them as the biggest issue, compared to 36 percent in Suffolk. Islandwide, Republicans and people 55 years or older complained about property taxes the most. "The Democrats love to spend money and they have to get it from the taxpayers," said one poll respondent, a retired Republican who lives on Nassau County's South Shore.

School costs - the biggest part of property tax bills - were also on the minds of Long Islanders who cited "the quality of public schools" among their top concerns. "The first thing I would do is eliminate tenure for teachers in public schools to cut costs," said another poll respondent, a 50-year-old Garden City man who is a Republican and who did not want to give his name. Although he was happy that his two children attending local schools got a good education there, he said his family's property tax bill has been overwhelming.

Property taxes hit a chord with all respondents, regardless of age, race, gender, religion, location or party affiliation. In addition to identifying the most important issue, the poll underlined the intensity of Long Islanders' general feelings about property taxes, with 86 percent calling the issue "very important" and 11 percent as "somewhat important." Crime, schools, good jobs and health care also received strong reactions, with traffic congestion and the local environment getting milder reactions.