New York, NY – April 28, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — Senate Republicans today renewed their call for the Assembly to act on the Governor’s property tax cap legislation in light of new data showing New Yorkers pay the highest property taxes in the United States.
The latest property tax data from the nonpartisan Tax Foundation ranks Nassau County first and Westchester County second, as the counties with the highest property taxes in the nation. The median amount of property taxes paid in Nassau is $8,478, slightly higher than Westchester. Rockland County ranked as the fifth highest in the country, Suffolk County was 12th.
When the Tax Foundation calculated property taxes as a percentage of home value, counties across Upstate New York were ranked 1 through 15 and made up 27 of the top 38 counties in the country that pay the highest property taxes relatives to the value of their home.
“New York’s high property taxes make it very tough for people to afford to stay in their homes and almost impossible to sell them,” Senate Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos said. “We need a strict property tax cap in place this year to finally put the brakes in property tax increases for the sake of every taxpayer that is considering leaving the state to escape high taxes.”
Earlier this year, the Senate passed Governor Cuomo’s property tax cap bill that would set a strict two percent cap. The Assembly has not acted on any property tax relief legislation.
In just two weeks, more than 14,000 New Yorkers have signed on to the Senate Republican’s “Pass the Cap” petition drive, urging the Assembly to pass the Governor’s tax cap bill.
“High property taxes not only hurt homeowners, they discourage job growth as well,” Senator Skelos said. “New York is first in the country in high property taxes and last in the country in terms of business climate. That’s not just a coincidence.
“Getting a property tax cap enacted this year must be our top priority in the final months of this session because people are tired of waiting for relief,” Senator Skelos said. “Let’s not forget that taxes and jobs are the issues people really care about. We need the Assembly to join us in passing the Governor’s property tax cap bill, rather than trying to find ways to water it down and make it irrelevant.”
