Each Thursday, we put one of our local newsmakers On The Spot. This week: Assemblyman Brian Kolb
This week's question: The state Senate recently unveiled a plan to dramatically increase property tax rebates. Is this a realistic plan and what kind of 2008 rebate checks can taxpayers expect?
It is no secret that property taxpayers in New York state are struggling under the weight of increasing tax rates. We need a long-term solution that will keep property taxes down and give residents back their hard-earned money. In assuming the governor and Legislature do not provide remedies in 2008 to address the problem, a Senate Republican plan to increase STAR rebates and provide temporary relief for taxpayers is a realistic solution.
The state Legislature enacted the Middle Class STAR Rebate Program in 2007, which provided $1.3 billion in property tax relief. The rebate program provides property tax savings directly to homeowners in the form of a check, giving much-needed relief to residents overburdened by ever-increasing tax bills.
Property taxpayers, however, need additional long-term relief. If increasing rebates is a solution that everyone can temporarily agree to, then the Senate's plan will realistically play a role in negotiations in Albany. Whether or not the plan is the final version agreed upon, remains to be seen.
Unfortunately, Gov. Spitzer wants to scale back the rebate check savings for this coming year #- a move that will adversely affect middle-class taxpayers. He is reneging on a promise he made last year to provide $1.8 billion in savings. His executive budget for this year shows that he falls short of that promise by $550 million. This is a backward approach at a time when we need to stimulate the economy.
There needs to be a collective effort to work on a comprehensive property tax solution that controls costs and reduces the need for property tax increases.
One such solution is a plan I'm supporting that calls for a property tax cap - an idea the governor indicated he might support. A tax cap plan would save taxpayers and school districts approximately $16 billion over five years.
By implementing a long-term solution, we can completely eradicate the need for a rebate check while providing meaningful property tax relief.
It is no secret that property taxpayers in New York state are struggling under the weight of increasing tax rates. We need a long-term solution that will keep property taxes down and give residents back their hard-earned money. In assuming the governor and Legislature do not provide remedies in 2008 to address the problem, a Senate Republican plan to increase STAR rebates and provide temporary relief for taxpayers is a realistic solution.
The state Legislature enacted the Middle Class STAR Rebate Program in 2007, which provided $1.3 billion in property tax relief. The rebate program provides property tax savings directly to homeowners in the form of a check, giving much-needed relief to residents overburdened by ever-increasing tax bills.
Property taxpayers, however, need additional long-term relief. If increasing rebates is a solution that everyone can temporarily agree to, then the Senate's plan will realistically play a role in negotiations in Albany. Whether or not the plan is the final version agreed upon, remains to be seen.
Unfortunately, Gov. Spitzer wants to scale back the rebate check savings for this coming year #- a move that will adversely affect middle-class taxpayers. He is reneging on a promise he made last year to provide $1.8 billion in savings. His executive budget for this year shows that he falls short of that promise by $550 million. This is a backward approach at a time when we need to stimulate the economy.
There needs to be a collective effort to work on a comprehensive property tax solution that controls costs and reduces the need for property tax increases.
One such solution is a plan I'm supporting that calls for a property tax cap - an idea the governor indicated he might support. A tax cap plan would save taxpayers and school districts approximately $16 billion over five years.
By implementing a long-term solution, we can completely eradicate the need for a rebate check while providing meaningful property tax relief.
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Post your comment - click hereThere are 3 comment(s)
fish wrote on Feb 11, 2008 11:12 AM:
One hidden piece behind funding Syr City student's college educations is in part an effort to keep the crime rate down. Studies prove that education has a direct effect on reducing crime. You may agree that crime happening in Syr is a problem. Further, some of those Syr criminals find their way to surrounding communities including Auburn so perhaps you or someone you know would benefit from paying these taxes.
May I add that if you consider that many young wage earners of today will never benefit from Social Security Tax, you can see that every form of tax paying can't benefit everyone.
"
Hillbilly wrote on Feb 8, 2008 2:18 PM:
With this in mind Cayuga County needs to cut cost by eliminating it's College charge on it tax bill too. Tax payers should not be paying for anyone to go to college. Since I, as a tax payer, receive no direct benefit from this tax it should be illegal to levy it. "
Bill Balyszak wrote on Feb 7, 2008 8:52 PM:
I do believe you're on the right track here or at least it is a good start by implementing an equitable tax cap on ALL property taxes and we need to do it NOW!
Personally, I'd like to see ALL property taxes eliminated and substituted via a State Income Tax and a State Sales Tax. (I haven't seen any State feasibility studies realtive to these two proposals but I do believe the Governor, Assembly and Senate should take a close look at this.) This would be paid by people who are working and profitable corporations - instead of the people on fixed incomes without any earned income. In doing so, we could truly help the people on fixed incomes - who are losing their homes to these high property taxes and low incomes - and finally get the underground economy 'fess' up when they buy all their 'blings' and yachts, etc. These guys may escape the INCOME TAX man because they don't report or under report their incomes but they can't escape the SALES TAX man when they go out and spend all that cash to but all those goodies.
However, neither an Income Tax, a Sales Tax or the STAR Rebate Program is in no way going to stop all these school districts from spending less - they're out of control - which should be the next battleground of the State. However, this doesn't mean that the short term measure of STAR Rebates won't help us local taxpayers. It will. But for the long haul - if the Income Tax and Sale Tax proposal is not fiscally feasible, the Tax Cap would certainly be a great long term equalizer. Thank you for pushing for the Tax Cap. "