Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a $1.66 billion property tax credit plan on Wednesday that he said would provide relief to more than 1.3 million taxpayers across the state when fully implemented.
The plan is the first piece of the governor’s “2015 Opportunity Agenda” and will be included as part of his 2015-16 budget, according to a news release from Cuomo’s office.
The proposal is meant to build upon the state’s property tax cap enacted in 2011 and property tax freeze, which was implemented in 2014, the governor said.
“We have no future as the tax capitol of the nation,” Cuomo, a Democrat, said during a news conference at Hofstra University also attended by Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano and Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, both Republicans.
“We capped property taxes and froze them,” Cuomo said. “Now it’s time to cut them.”
New Yorkers eligible for the program include those who live within a tax cap-compliant municipality and whose incomes fall below $250,000 and whose property tax burden exceeds 6 percent of their annual income, an estimated 1.3 million people, according to the governor’s office.
The credit is valued at up to 50 percent of the total by which their tax burden exceeds that six percent figure, a $950 average, Cuomo’s office said.
Approximately 207,250 Nassau County residents would qualify for the program, according to Cuomo’s office, for an average $1,208 credit.
“Today I joined with Governor Cuomo in supporting a tax cut plan that will help over 200,000 homeowners,” Mangano said in a statement Wednesday. “I supported the Governor’s tax cap in 2010, tax freeze in 2014 and welcome the 2015 property tax cut plan.”
Residents whose income is less than $75,000 and qualify for the program would save a maximum of $2,000. Those whose incomes are between $75,000 and $150,000 would save between $1,500 and $2,000. New Yorkers with incomes between $150,000 and $250,000 could save between $1,000 and $1,500.
The proposal also includes a credit for New Yorkers who rent their homes. Those eligible include taxpayers with incomes up to $150,000 and whose property tax burden whose rent exceeds six percent of their annual income. Approximately 1,000 New Yorkers would be eligible for the program.
