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The Business Council strongly supports these proposals which would make the real property tax cap permanent. Under current law, the cap expires on June 15, 2020 and is tied to the extension of New York City rent control.
The Senate has already passed its legislation, S.1904, with broad, bipartisan support.
The Business Council was a long-time advocate for adoption of the cap, and applauded its initial adoption in 2011. The cap was one of the most significant early policy successes of Governor Cuomo, and reflected a multi-year effort by many members of the state legislature.
The real property cap has been a great success, providing more than $24 billion in tax relief to New York property owners, including more than $3 billion to business taxpayers, including agribusiness, commercial enterprises, industrial firms and utilities. For many businesses, the real property tax is the largest, and most disproportionately high, category of tax they pay in New York.
Over the past several years, the legislation has provided major tax relief to residential and business taxpayers alike, and has instilled a greater sense of fiscal discipline on municipal governments. We believe that the benefits of the cap should be assured by making the cap permanent, and not subject to periodic sunsets and political gamesmanship.
For these reasons, The Business Council strongly supports the permanent extension of the real property tax cap, and urges that it be included in the final State’s budget agreement for FY 2020.