WASHINGTON – (RealEstateRama) — Rep. Tom Reed is supportive of making changes at the federal level that would lessen the property tax burden across upstate New York.
“For too long Albany has pushed its responsibility to fund Medicaid onto local county governments. This shift is responsible for the unreasonably high property taxes in our state. It is time to fix this problem so that younger people stop fleeing our state and the elderly are not unfairly burdened with these taxes,” Reed stated.
The proposed changes would prevent the State of New York from forcing county governments to pay for a portion the state’s share of Medicaid. Some counties are dedicating nearly 70 percent of their tax dollars toward the portion of Medicaid they are forced to fund.
“Chautauqua County’s local share of Medicaid is almost 50 percent of the county’s tax levy. That means 50 cents of every dollar paid in property tax goes to Medicaid. The Medicaid program in New York State is the largest, most costly program in the nation. The size and scope of it is controlled entirely in Albany. So taking that burden off of the shoulders of local property tax payers will not only help to bring needed relief, it may also bring some needed attention in Albany to true reforms,” added Chautauqua County Legislator George Borrello.
Making these changes to what county governments are forced to pay for Medicaid would in effect lessen the taxes that local residents would have to pay.
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