Governor-elect Andrew M. Cuomo has a full plate awaiting him when he is inaugurated next month, including a gaping budget deficit. But Mr. Cuomo is already making clear to legislative leaders that one of his priorities is to cap local property taxes, which would have large consequences statewide for homeowners and school districts.
Three New York governors have tried, and failed, to limit local taxes, which are among the highest in the nation and a primary reason suburbanites and upstate residents say the state has become unaffordable.
But with the Senate all but certain to be controlled by the Republicans and voters in a tax-rebellion mood, Mr. Cuomo may be facing a more favorable political climate for a cap.
“When this issue first came up, most people saw it as an arrow in the quiver of conservative Republicans,” said Thomas R. Suozzi, a Democrat who is a former Nassau County executive and who headed the New York State Commission on Property Tax Relief in 2008. “Now it has a broader base of support among Republicans and Democrats, with the deteriorating economic situation and rising property taxes.”…..
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