Cuomo signs property tax cap bill into law

Governor Andrew Cuomo was making the rounds in New York City suburbs today, signing a statewide property tax cap legislation in Westchester and Nassau counties, his office announced. The new law, which has been kicked around the state government for more than 15 years, caps property tax increases at 2 percent, or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. Only a 60 percent vote in local communities override Cuomo’s legislation. “We are beginning a new era in which New York will no longer be the tax capital of the nation,” Cuomo said. Nassau County taxpayers pay the highest property taxes in the country, with a median tax bill of $8,478 per household, compared to the nationwide rate of $1,917. Westchester taxpayers are the second-most burdened, paying $8,474 in annual property taxes. Cuomo physically signed the bill in a home in Nassau County and a home in Westchester county, each of which boasted owners with four children and a patriarch that owns a small business. — Adam Fusfeld