WDT: Devil’s in the details of a state commission report that sounds a lot better than it reads

   Before I got into government, like most, I just heard the pols use the phrase "the taxpayers" and figured that thet nasty property tax paid for all the policemen, firemen, teachers,playgrounds and other things that made up the fabric of a community.
     In fact, there are many local factors that make the debate over taxes different, depending on where you are.
      We have NNY school districts where as little as 5% of what is spent comes from the property tax. Who are the 'taxpayers' there ?   As I have said many times, only one in five dollars in the City's general fund comes from the property tax.
        In an all-things-equal budget preparation, the property tax is the sole local variable to make up a difference, thus percentages can not tell the whole story. In St Lawrence County a 14% hike in sales tax (7% to 8%) will lead to a 16% decrease in the county property tax levy, but school taxes are unaffected so the aggregate change to property owners does not equal the tax hike. Complicated ? And you have to have been around this stuff a while to sort it all out.
      Former Governor Pataki and ex Comptroller McCall have been around a while. Despite that, their commission report doesn't sound terribly insightful.
       So when groups like the Governor's latest tax commission comes out with a report on taxes and a proposal for rebates linked to the tax cap, this op/ed rightly points out the devil is always in the details.
      The STAR program is not an effort at fiscal conservatism but just a electoral gimmick that shifts burdens.
       Most of these things are and you can be sure any rebate checks will be issued around , say, mid to late October.

Watertown Daily Times | Devil’s in the details of a state commission report that sounds a lot better than it reads