City Hall to explain why property taxes continue to go up in a down real estate market
If you?re one of those homeowners in Staten Island who is getting frustrated over the convoluted property tax system, here?s some good news for you. The city?s Department of Finance has agreed to come up with a pamphlet that explains this system in plain English.
This promise was obtained by City Council members James Oddo (R-Mid-Island) and Vincent Ignizio (R-South Shore) from David Frankel, the Finance Commissioner himself.
In his response to their letter, Mr. Frankel admitted the complexity of the current property tax system. This means it will take some time before they can come up with a clear and effective explanation of how this system goes. He also said that it will be distributed during the next round of bills. Thus, homeowners will have to endure one more tax season trying to figure out the murky rules surrounding their property taxes.
But then again, skepticism abounds when it comes to New York?s property taxes and this simplified booklet may not really wipe out these skeptics.
For one, the assessed values of the properties, which are the basis for calculating the taxes, keep on arbitrarily changing and the taxes are rising. Despite the depressed economy, City Hall projects property tax revenues to go up from about $18 million this fiscal year to more than $20 billion by the year 2016. This despite the Bloomberg administration?s claim that it has not imposed any new taxes on the paying public.
So what is their explanation for this?
According to a spokesman for the Department of Finance, the values of these homes are capped so as to avoid large annual increases when market is on the upswing. Legally, the assessed property values can only go up by 6% every year. Over 5 years, the maximum increase is 20%. Year-on-year this may be a good thing but it can definitely surprise and frustrate the homeowner when he sees an increase in his property taxes despite the current economic gloom.
No wonder homeowners, not just Mr. Oddo and Mr. Ignizio, demand to see more understandable and transparent property tax rules.
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