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Today's Poll: Should the two-percent property tax cap be made permanent?

By Howard B. Owens
John Roach

C.M., thank you.
Personally, I am against the tax cap. Albany continues to give us unfunded mandates. When it does, the County has to either cut services or raise the taxes. And I don't see Albany stopping the pushing spending onto the Counties.

Mar 22, 2019, 1:39pm Permalink
Howard B. Owens

The other problem with the tax cap, in the event of actual growth (say, STAMP does get off the ground), the value of properties would go up, increasing the tax levy above the tax cap amount. This would require local governments to cut taxes. All well in good you say, but with an increase in population comes in an increase in the use of services. So local governments would be put in a bind -- increasing costs with an inability to increase revenue by a like amount.

In many ways, that would be a nice problem to have but there's a contradiction between the governor's growth goals and the tax cap.

Mar 22, 2019, 2:54pm Permalink
Howard B. Owens

Daniel, if that's how it worked, as population falls, taxes increase or remain about level as the price fixed price, floor price of government services remain static or increase with inflation while property values fall or remain flat as demand decreases.

Mar 25, 2019, 9:50am Permalink

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