Fresh-faced City Council Speaker Corey Johnson wants middle-class homeowners in the city to get a tax break.
Though not clear how many “middle-class” homeowners there are in a city where the median home prices even in Queens are well over $500,000, Johnson floated a $400 tax rebate for co-op and condominium owners making less than $150,000 a year, Crain’s reported.
“We have a broken property-tax system, one that favors some homeowners over others,” said Johnson, in his Wednesday response to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s budget plan. “But [a comprehensive reform] won’t happen overnight. So I’m proud our budget response includes relief in the meantime.”
Johnson also expressed support for reforms of the overall property tax system that favors homeowners in wealthier and whiter parts of the city, which is one of the complaints of a coalition suing the city on this matter, Tax Equity Now.
The Council speaker’s proposal includes the creation of a new property tax commission, helmed by experts who will figure out how to lower property tax burdens for some while avoiding too much damage to the city’s revenue streams. [Crain’s] — Will Parker