Gov. Cuomo says he wants a property-tax cap for New York. Now it’s time for him to prove it.
So far, his “push” for a 2 percent-a-year cap has gone nowhere, courtesy of the teachers unions and the power they wield over lawmakers.
And Cuomo has shown no appetite for a fight, apart from having written a bill.
The Assembly won’t move the measure, though yesterday Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver said his chamber would introduce some version of it.
And though Majority Leader Dean Skelos passed Cuomo’s bill in the Senate, he’s now talking tough while resisting negotiations that could lead to a deal.
Say hello to age-old Albany gridlock.
True, Cuomo vowed yesterday to “bring more urgency” to the tax-cap issue “in the next few weeks.”
But what’s he waiting for?
It was almost a month ago that an aide vowed that the governor would “make a full-court, statewide press” to get it passed.
So far, nothing.
Nor can Cuomo claim that he’s focusing on the budget; that was signed, sealed and delivered on March 31.
The cap was a principal plank in Cuomo’s campaign platform. And for good reason: Property taxes in New York are consistently the highest in the nation.
New data from the Tax Foundation confirms that, yet again. Nassau and Westchester lead the country in property taxes. The top 15 US counties with the highest levies as a share of home values? All in New York.
Property taxes in most US counties amount to less than 1 percent of home values, the data show. But fully 28 New York counties charge between two and three times that rate.
In upstate Orleans County — home to the No. 1 property-tax burden in the nation — median property taxes run $2,610 on home values at $87,200. In second-place Niagara, where the median house is worth $97,900, the tax man gets $2,773.
Bottom line: Property taxes squeeze everyone — from the wealthiest families to those of modest means.
And they’re burying hard-hit areas Upstate and in western New York.
The burden is especially tough for those out of work or with low incomes. It drives down home values and makes it hard to hang on to a house.
It also deters new residents — and businesses.
No wonder New York is losing population, particularly upstate.
Gov. Cuomo knows all this.
He’s repeatedly called for a cap.
Trouble is, beyond his words, he’s done little to get lawmakers to go along.
Now’s the time for him to move.
If he really means it, that is.