What are your thoughts on property taxes?  What do YOU think can be done?  Please share your thoughts and ideas.

The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle joined me in supporting Andrew Cuomo’s plan to empower municipalities to consolidate.

From the editorial:

     “The more than 600 layers of government in Monroe County are among the most in any single county in New York state. No wonder the county also has some of the highest local taxes in the nation.”

In already overtaxed New York, our legislative leaders are talking about raising taxes again and lying about it.

Some legislators are pushing a so-called “Millionaires Tax”.  There is only one thing, this “Millionaires Tax” would apply to any household with an income of $250,000 a year.

Setting aside the deception of the name, I have two major problems with this:

1. Taxing upper-income people will dissuade corporate executives from wanting to stay in New York and cause more companies to leave.  Every time New York raises taxes, a corresponding number of Fortune 500 companies have left our state and our well earned reputation for high taxes makes it nearly impossible to recruit other major companies to replace them.  
2. These taxes will end up hurting our local charities.   James Tilley, chairman-elect of the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County said in the Buffalo News: “My sense is that private industry as well as charitable organizations will fare better if individuals are allowed to determine where they want their money to go, which is another way of saying I think lower tax rates are better.”

Fairness is just an excuse to take from one group of people and spread it to another.

You can read a recent article about this tax HERE.

I founded Responsible New York to help reform our great state but the reform we need didn’t start with me and it most certainly doesn’t end with me.

Reform can—and must—come from you.

Reform will only happen when enough New Yorker’s say they’ve had enough and when enough New Yorkers are fed up enough to finally do something about it.

Over the next few months you will see many changes in this website. These changes are intended to bring you (and your friends and family and neighbors) into the process and create a genuine conversation about how we can work together to renew New York. Individually, we are too often ignored by our state leaders. Together, our voices are louder than any special interest and, perhaps, if enough of us speak together we will not be ignored.

I hope you will join me.

                      -Tom