Senator Bonacic Supports Legislation to Make New York More Affordable by Cutting Billions in Local Property Taxes and Other Tax Burdens

May 7, 2018

(Albany, NY)- State Senator John J. Bonacic (R/C/I-Mt. Hope) supported a sweeping legislative package today that focuses on property taxes, energy costs, unfunded mandates, and other drivers that are making it harder for middle-class families to succeed.

The measures would result in billions of dollars in savings annually for taxpayers in the form of new and expanded property tax cuts – including the state assuming local Medicaid costs; eliminating costly energy taxes; creating new tax cuts for seniors to prevent them from moving to another state; requiring a supermajority vote when taxes are increased by state and local governments; and preventing unfunded mandates from being passed on to the taxpayer.

“The burdens that are placed on middle-class taxpayers in New York can be overwhelming at times,” said Senator Bonacic. “I’m pleased to join my colleagues in the Senate majority conference in supporting these measures that will save our hardworking taxpayers money and lift unnecessary burdens.”

The bills passed today include:

•S8411, which would reduce the local Medicaid contribution by 20 percent a year over five years for all counties outside New York City;
• S8412, which would reduce counties’ contributions by 10 percent a year over 10 years and again requires that $2.3 billion in cumulative savings to be returned dollar-for-dollar back to property taxpayers;
• S8398, which would provide additional property tax relief for all STAR-eligible New Yorkers by increasing the amount of the property tax relief credit by 25 percent. This bill expands an already successful program first created by Senate Republicans that is helping to reduce the property tax burden and helps mitigate tax savings that could be lost as a result of the recent federal State and Local Tax deduct;
• S8399, which would save business and resident ratepayers by phasing in a new elimination of the two-percent Gross Receipts Tax on utility bills;
• S8406, which would create a senior school tax rate that phases in a yearly 10 percent reduction of school taxes, based on age of the eligible senior, starting at age 70 to reduce the burden that seniors face when paying the school tax portions of their real property tax bills;
• S414A would help more seniors save money and choose to stay in New York during their retirement by increasing the private pension and retirement income exclusion from $20,000 to $40,000 for single taxpayers and to $80,000 for married taxpayers, over three years;
• S8401 would require a two-thirds vote from each house of the state legislature to increase, impose, or extend taxes, a two-thirds vote from local legislative bodies to increase, impose, or extend local taxes, and a two-thirds vote from local legislative bodies requesting an increase, imposition, or extension of taxes by the state legislature; and
• S8400 would propose a constitutional amendment to reduce property taxes by prohibiting many of the unfunded mandates that place a hardship on local governments. The bill would prevent state government from passing a financial burden of new mandates to local governments without financial assistance, preventing them from being forced to decide between taking resources from already strained local programs and redirecting those funds to the latest unfunded mandate or turning to already over-burdened taxpayers for additional support.