Governor Cuomo says he will propose property tax credit program

HEMPSTEAD (WABC) -- The sad truth is, it is not unusual these days for some homeowners to be paying more money towards property taxes than their mortgage. Jean Gellman of Dix Hills is one of them.

"It is crazy but we do it - I'm in the home I grew up in, and I'm really not ready to leave it," says Gellman.

However, Governor Andrew Cuomo points out that many people are because New York's property taxes are right now, the highest in the nation.

That is why Governor Cuomo is proposing a $1.6 Billion property tax credit. Those who will be affected by the credit are taxpayers with incomes less than $250,000, and property taxes equaling more than 6% of their income. More than a million New York State taxpayers would get an average tax credit of $950.

The Governor will expect some pushback from local municipalities that say they are already struggling to provide mandated services.

"Local government - the spending has gone up 6,7,8% every year, and they use taxpayers as a piggybank," said Governor Cuomo.

Critics are probably already studying the breakdown of the proposed plan. More taxpayers will benefit upstate, but the greater amount per taxpayer is clearly downstate, notably Nassau and Suffolk Counties, and no so surprisingly, it didn't matter on Wednesday that Nassau's County Executive is a Republican.

"Tax relief is not a partisan subject...it is a subject that helps every homeowner here in our great county," said Ed Mangano.

Cuomo says addressing property tax concerns will be the highest priority as he begins his second term as governor. He says when fully phased-in over four years, more than 1.3 million taxpayers would receive an average credit of $950.

The new proposal follows tax-cut initiatives in his first term. He imposed a 2 percent cap on what local governments could levy in 2011.

Some information from the Associated Press