Quoted Text

Tax Cap Rap
April 29, 2011 at 10:27 pm by Philip Morris

Governor Cuomo has won the support of so many of us as his first third of a year of governance rolls to an end. A timely budget, hard choices on spending, and an open and progressive social agenda.

That is all part of the New York I believe in and want to continue to be a part of.

This next third, though, will bring me to disagreement with the Governor. The property tax cap is a mistake. It will make New York look like California within his term of office.

First, disclosure: I was an elected Councilman years ago for the City of Jamestown. As today’s papers reported that homeowners in many parts of Western New York had the highest property tax burden in the country, I winced with pain. For two terms I struggled with the realities that more than half of our property taxes were for required programs and another 25% were just for police and fire protection.

Many local elected people are screaming that the tax cap must come with mandate and requirement relief. I get that, but the mandates have to be paid by someone, or, if eliminated, what are saying and doing with and for and about children in poverty, the highest long term unemployed in half a century and the equitable and fair education of our kids?

I think there is another approach. No one wants local property taxes to continue to fuel economic decline, which defines much of upstate New York. But, as the news today made clear, our taxes are high as a percentage of the value of our properties. Makes perfect sense: as an area declines and loses jobs, it’s housing values decline.

I think we should start an Equity Growth program. Instead of squeezing the life out of small upstate cities and towns by capping their revenue, tie revenue to equity one property value. Instead of an upstate economic development program focused on jobs that somehow never happen, let’s focus on growing property values.

Clearly, creating jobs is a component of creating healthy places that folks want to live which increases equity, but that is not the only approach.

Here is the math, if equity went up 2% then taxes would stay flat! Instead of punishing a place that for any number of reasons needs funds to do a good job of local service delivery, reward places that do that delivery in such a way that people want to live there and increase values! Support growth rather than constrict needs.

How? A five year tax increment program that lets communities deliver needed services and rewards them by state funding of annual incremental costs IF property values increase over those five years. Increasing property values have multiple benefits to the state, so why not fund into their growth? Maybe a BOCES like reimbursement program for communities that collaborate on equity growing opportunities. They are reimbursed based on a state wide property tax equalization program so poorer places receive more reimbursement, thereby growing their resources to continue the activities.

Just as we cannot spend our way to recovery, we cannot choke our way there. I think we need to focus on what really matters for business and people: knowing what they own will have value.

http://blog.timesunion.com/philipmorris/tax-cap-rap/629/

Poor Philip Morris, he doesn't want Cuomo to turn off the money machine for all his non profit, tax free ventures.

I've been feeling nauseous today, now after reading this I think I am going to puke.

Of course he doesn't want a tax cap on Proctor's. It would move the County Brinks truck permanently parked by his back door. Things are so peachy down there that the Parker Inn one side went belly up and the jewelry store on the other side fled. Run the theater as a private business and get off our backs. An over inflated buffoon.

JOBS??? What does he know about jobs and working in the private sector. What gives him the know all-end all regarding taxes when his existence IS from taxes?

Quoted from bumblethru

JOBS??? What does he know about jobs and working in the private sector. What gives him the know all-end all regarding taxes when his existence IS from taxes?

Stop telling it like it is. He is writing the funniest comedy blog for the TU. He is an expert on avoiding taxes or repaying ANYTHING. Mercury Morris doesn't care about the poor kids without a swimming pool. He cares about his mansion. Proctor's was the only major nonprofit to pay nothing to the Stratton fair PILOT plan.

Why am I not surprised.

Well, once again the greed of the downtonw milloniares comes out.  Oppose anything that limits how much the financially struggling homeowners have to fork over in handouts to the rich.  

And THAT is what DV calls the renaissance of the city.   DV refuses to pay taxes in the city, yet cheers to rob from the financially struggling hoimeowners to give it to the millionaires downtown.   Just like Morris, he gets out of the city to avoid the high taxes and the crime and continuing los of services.   He is rich at the expense of the poor and opposes a tax cap so that his multimillion dollar empire stays on the taxpayer dole

Quoting Mercury Morris on capping taxes is like quoting Dr Kevorkian on right to life.

there is not equity when no one wants it.....it's like collecting bottlecaps and then expecting to make a windfall on the Antique Road Show......you must have something
that someone else wants for it to have value.....

sure the fluff and stuff is nice but it currently falls far below on the priority list right now....

Coming Next! Acting Mayor McCarthy on why after he's been on the City Council/Metrograft for decades City taxes are the highest in the area. Cue smoke and mirrors,

Exit stage left.

suck suck suck gimme gimme gimme

I look forward to being a resident of the City of Schenectady when the entire county is consolidated into a single  City-County.    Until then, I plan on living in the town that my ancestors have lived in for over 120 years.