Congress offers some relief for state property taxes

WASHINGTON - Hundreds of thousands of homeowners in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut will get help from a little-noticed piece of the big foreclosure rescue package passed by Congress last month, one designed to help not owners in danger of losing their homes but those who've lived in them for decades.

Democrats added language to the massive housing bill that will allow people who don't itemize their taxes to take a standard deduction for property taxes.

That could mean a smaller tax bite for 1.4 million homeowners in New York, half a million in New Jersey, and more than 200,000 in Connecticut. The figures are rough estimates based on census numbers and other data from 2005.