NYS 2% tax cap sham

[firstamendment]

Yeah, as I found out on my recent school tax bill, the 2% tax cap already has cost me more in taxes than it was supposed to save. It turns out, the STAR exemption for school taxes also is CAPPED by the 2% legislation. I do not have the figures in front of me, but due to the Cap, I did not receive the full STAR exemption. Matter of fact, there is an * next to it stating that it is affected by the 2% cap. I kept trying to tell people this Cap was not what they thought it to be but nobody wanted to hear it.

Found this article that backs up what I just stated:

www.speakupwny.com/article_4593.shtml

[JGRobinson]

I agreed with you then as do I now, they capped nothing that helped JQ Homeowner. Everyone just raised this, that's and other, things while cutting bennies from rebates and other incentives.

Even if they had capped taxes at under 2% as they promised, that would be at least 1% higher than I got for a raise last year, many got less and others got pink-slips yet the mandate an increase we haven't seen in our income in some time. Maybe they think we forgot that over the last 5 years, they have increased our taxes and their spending by 20% plus.. .

Did we forget?

[firstamendment]

It was a shell game, like 3 card monte. Sleight of hand. They shifted the tax burden around a little and everyone thought it would magically make everyone feel better.

[dgriffin]

I can't imagine that anyone who read the newspapers thought the 2 % cap was anything but a sham, specifically called that by members of the legislature and various state pundits. Right out of the box it came with a 60% super-majority override, the exclusion of pension and medical costs, the very same 2 items that are responsible for most of the property tax increases, and Andrew's assurance to school districts, "no one is saying you can't determine your own tax rates."

Here's sometimes-cheerleader Fred Dicker back in May:

www.nypost.com/p/news/local/gop_tax_cap_sham_exposed_izGqWRpcvZmRFvtdUxV5zL

To me an even worse cut than the 2% cap on Star is that if the local government overrides the tax levy limit in a given year, THAT amount is used as the basis for the next year's cap. In other words, the way I read it, the locals can incrementally ramp the taxes back up where they always wanted it. (Publication 1000 (10-11): The Property Tax Cap; Guidelines for Implementation)