Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is alone among state leaders in opposing a property tax cap in New York and is refusing to allow the matter to come up for a vote in the Assembly, even though it is a key election issue in many districts.
On Aug. 3, the state Senate passed a property tax cap 52-7, a measure backed by Gov. David Paterson, but it faces an uphill fight in the Assembly, where Silver, representing a Manhattan district where property taxes are not an issue, is against the proposal and won”™t allow it on the floor for a vote, saying it lacks enough support.
Paterson vowed to call a special session in October in the middle of the campaign season to put pressure on the Assembly to take up a tax cap. The legislation would limit the growth in property taxes to 4 percent a year or 120 percent of the inflation rate, whichever is lower.
“Yes, it is an election year, but the voters deserve to know where Albany stands on property taxes,” Paterson said.
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic nominee for governor, has called for a tax cap, as have his Republican opponents. He has even said the Assembly should act on a tax cap.
Silver has argued that providing more school aid from the state would lead to lower taxes on the local level. It is uncertain what he bases that claim on, however, since despite record support for education in recent state budgets, property taxes have continued to skyrocket. School districts in New York use property taxes to fund local education.
In New York, property-tax bills are 79 percent above the national average. Between 1995 and 2005, property-tax levies grew 60 percent, the state Comptroller”™s Office has found.
Dutchess County property owners pay the 38th-highest percentage of income to property taxes in the nation, according to Census Bureau data. Ulster County ranks 39th.
Lowering the state”™s property taxes is a main issue in statewide elections this year because the suburbs and upstate, where the tax burden is felt the most, are key battleground areas. All statewide seats and all 212 legislative seats are on the November ballot. Silver represents the 64th Assembly district in a tiny swath on the lower east side of Manhattan.
There is some hope that Silver will relent on the issue if a special session is called.
“He has said he is open to discussion,” said Sisa Moyo, a spokeswoman for the Speaker”™s office said this week. “There are differing proposals out there.”
Asked if the Speaker would allow the issue to be voted on in the Assembly this year, she replied, “I can”™t predict the future.”
