A plan to bring what he termed “real tax relief for New Yorkers,” was proposed recently by Gov. David Paterson as part of his new budget and is under review by he legislature. If enacted, the plan will give property owners tax credits that will be paid for by projected savings at the state level over the next fiscal year. The amount of that tax credit will depend, however, on the fiscal restraint of each school district in the state, said Matt Anderson, a spokesman for Paterson.
“What this plan will do, if enacted, is not only control spending at the state level and return any surplus those savings generate directly to the taxpayers but also encourage school districts to do the same,” he said. “We looked at the Star program and recognized that it did not provide the kind of real property savings it was designed to bring because of escalating costs at the local level.”
This, undoubtedly places more pressure on school districts to keep the rate of annual increases under control, even at a time when state aid has been reduced and mandates increased.
“There’s no question that the proposal gives school districts the incentive to control spending, but if the state doesn’t control spending as well, then there will be no money for tax credits,” said New York Sen. Chuck Fuschillo (R-Merrick).
“I would be in support of a circuit breaker law, depending on how it is set up to work,” said N.Y.S. Assemblyman Robert Sweeney (D-Lindenhurst). “Anything that helps to save money and reduce taxes is important but I don’t know if we are going to get control of this (the state’s fiscal) problem un less we do something dramatic.”
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