School Taxes

Property taxes are the center of any real dialog with most New Yorkers. The desire to change the way we collect and allocate the needed funds to manage the states affairs permeates the discussion at every campaign event.

What is striking is that there is a reform effort taking place in Albany at this very moment. Our very own State Assemblyman Kevin Cahill has offered a bill called the Equity in Education Act (A.8069). It’s a proposal for a statewide income tax solution to eliminate school property taxes, thus shifting the funding of our schools to the State.

Cahill’s proposal makes provisions for the state to assume all costs of basic quality education and for the elimination of real property taxes for the support of education. What that means is school districts shall submit an annual budget to the Department of Education for basic services; increases taxes on personal income and business; makes special provisions for reduction of tax in certain cities. All this provides for phased in
methods of funding using a "Basic Quality Education" formula.

I know there has been continual resistance in the State Senate to any kind of reform that shifts the tax burden back to the state, but the Cahill proposal is right on target. A change in leadership in the NYS Senate will offer a better chance of tax reform for future generations of New York State.

The Assembly has attempted versions of this bill for decades. I remember supporting the School Tax shift to the state back when Congressman Maurice Hinchey was still our Assemblyman. To this day, the issue has plagued residents in the 39th District and continues to make raising a family in New York State a daunting task.

What will the Cahill bill (A 8068) do for us? This plan will end the financial dependency of public schools on the regressive and unfair real property tax; a tax which bears little relationship to one's ability to pay; a tax which penalizes the elderly, the retired, the unemployed, the widowed and the person who chooses to invest in his/her own home.

The economic stress of the last eight years has placed property taxes front and center. I plan on working with Assemblyman Kevin Cahill on this and many other issues that hamper the growth of our community. With your help, the stall tactics of the State Senate will come to an end.

For more on tax reform: www.hvpropertytaxreform.org