Senate Acts to Make the Property Tax Cap Permanent

The New York State Senate today passed legislation to make the property tax cap permanent and ensure the continuation of more than $15.5 billion taxpayers have already saved. The bill (S1207), sponsored by Senate Majority Leader John J. Flanagan (R-C-I, East Northport), would make the property tax cap permanent statewide, except in New York City where no cap is currently in place.

Senator Flanagan said, “Prior to the property tax cap, communities throughout the state were faced with skyrocketing increases and uncontrolled local spending. The cap has been enormously successful in stopping those unsustainable tax increases, and now we need to make sure the cap is permanent.”

Growth in property taxes skyrocketed by over 73 percent for New York school districts between 2001 and 2011 and 53 percent in counties. The property tax cap was first enacted in 2011 due to Senate Republican efforts to reduce New Yorkers’ tax burden. When the cap was created, it included a commitment to increase support to school districts and has resulted in a total of $4.9 billion – 26 percent – in school aid increases over the last five years.

The cap limits the annual growth of property taxes levied by local governments and school districts to two percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. By keeping within the cap, taxpayers statewide – except in New York City – have saved $15.5 billion over the last five years, and will save over $66.4 billion cumulatively over the first 10 years of its implementation.

The bill has been sent to the Assembly.