Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (I, D, WF-Sag Harbor) today stated that the top priority for the five remaining weeks of the 2015 State Legislative Session must be real property tax relief.

In January, Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed establishing a “Real Property Tax Circuit Breaker Program” that would cap property taxes based upon a percentage of household income. Taxpayers with incomes of $250,000 or less would be eligible. The program would save taxpayers more than $1.7 billion. Under the Governor’s proposal, the money would be returned to New Yorkers in the form of income tax credits.

The State Legislature failed to adopt the program as part of the 2015 State Budget. While the Governor, the State Senate and State Assembly all supported real property tax relief, some in the Assembly wanted to tie the property tax proposal to a minimum wage increase and the State Senate wanted the tax relief to be delivered through rebate checks rather than tax credits.

Thiele stated, “Nothing would be a bigger boost for the middle class and the State economy than providing $1.7 billion in property tax relief. It is a proposal that stands on its own merits and should not be tied to anything else. Further, based upon past history, the use of income tax credits is a much more efficient and cost effective method of getting the money back to the people.”

Thiele added, “This program is particularly beneficial for the Long Island. In Suffolk County, more than 125,000 taxpayers would benefit and the average tax savings would be more than $1,100 per taxpayer. In addition, senior citizens and those on fixed incomes who can’t afford increases in property taxes. This should be our top priority.”