Is A Tax Cap the Answer?

On January 23rd, Governor Spitzer created the Commission on Property Tax Relief, naming Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi as its chair. You might recall that Suozzi unsuccessfully challenged Spitzer in a primary for Governor, but his appointment doesn’t seem just an effort to mend fences. Instead, we believe that Suozzi’s track record of serious government reform makes him the clear choice to head up a commission that will not just study, but actually improve the situation it is charged with studying. You can read more about Suozzi in this article from Governing magazine.

Governor Spitzer’s announcement states that the bipartisan commission “will examine the root causes of high property taxes, identify ways to make the State’s property tax system fairer, and develop a fair and effective school property tax cap to hold the line on property tax growth.” The commission is currently holding a series of hearings across the state and is expected to have preliminary recommendations in May, with a final report expected by December of this year. Augustine receives regular updates about the commission’s work, and you can access the latest one here.

Much of the testimony received by the commission so far has been in response to the controversial proposal to cap school taxes. We have been clear in our position that the property tax bill of Upstate cities like Geneva is pinching senior citizens, scaring off young people, and threatening the financial stability of families. Any one of the following articles should provide a fair outline of the situation:

“Does Geneva Have the Highest Taxes in the Country?”
“A Tax Exemption Would be Good, but A Lower Tax Rate Would Be Better”
“Not All Property Tax Relief is Created Equal”
“Rethinking City Living”
“A Tax Decrease in 2008 Is Possible! Here’s How:”
“‘Unshackle Upstate’: A Petition to the Local Warden Might be More Effective”

But would a cap on property taxes, either for the school or the city or the county, solve the problem? Is it just a way of forcing the governing bodies to make the decisions that they lack the political will to do now? Is it up to the state to determine the level of services a community is willing to support? Would it be tied to any performance outputs, or would boards simply be allowed to cut those expenses that have the least powerful lobbies, even if those expenses yield better results?

What do you think? Could a cap on taxes solve our problems? Click on the 'comments' tab below to leave your thoughts.