Paterson drops property tax cap vote from agenda

10.28.2010

New York Governor David Paterson has now backed down from his original position of trying to push through a cap on property taxes this year, after leaving a vote on the proposal off of his agenda for the state legislature's special session next month, the Press & Sun-Bulletin reports - a move which may make it more fiscally advantageous for New York residents to buy a luxury villa overseas.

Earlier this year, the state senate passed a bill that would have limited the growth of property tax rates to 4 percent per year, or the rate of inflation - whichever was lower, but the measure was never taken up by the state assembly.

The paper says that some lawmakers didn't want the vote to take place before the election, and while many have said that they expect to work on the issue with the incoming governor, assembly speaker Sheldon Silver hasn't said that he would support a property tax cap.

New York already has one of the highest property tax rates in the country. An analysis by the Tax Foundation earlier this year said that the state's property taxes ranked 42nd in the country - making penthouses for sale in other countries seem more inviting.