Data released by the conservative Empire Center highlights property taxes in rural areas, reports Cara Matthews at Gannett:
Median local and school property tax rates in the western New York and the Finger Lakes regions are the highest in the state at $34.93 and $33.96 per $1,000 of assessed value, respectively, compared with $28.50 per $1,000 in the Southern Tier and $24.11 in the Hudson Valley, the Empire Center found. The statewide median tax rate is $27.43. The report "reinforces what we already knew — that property taxes in New York are high," said Tim Hoefer, director of the Empire Center.
The data isn't really a surprise and the math is pretty simple. When your house isn't worth much, your property tax rate ($x per $1,000 assessed) is higher. When your house is worth more, the rate can be lower and government can still net a pretty penny per $1,000 assessed. New York City and Nassau County excepted of course - they're not included in the study because their tax rates don't stack up the same way.
Want to see what your neighbors across the town line are paying? The Empire Center has set up a tax calculator to determine property tax bills across the state.
Also, Capital Tonight has video of the Empire Center's E.J. McMahon talking about the report, via State of Politics:
It's all to the end of advocating for a property tax cap in New York. And what's the other side of the property tax cap coin? Everybody now: mandate relief!
So pro-business gropu Unshackle Upstate released a "mandate-relief wish list" yesterday, reports Jon Campbell at Gannett. Included in the 15-page memo to the governor:
- Letting municipalities opt-out of some unfunded mandates
- Requiring contributions to health insurance from public employees
- Limiting the number of unfunded mandates created in the future
You can read the full memo here [PDF].
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