Ronkonkoma, NY - State Senate candidate Brian X. Foley stood with supporters on the lawn of a middle-class family in Ronkonkoma, New York today, with two checks symbolizing the thousands of dollars working families in Islip and Brookhaven would be saving with a property tax cap and circuit breaker.
"Brookhaven and Islip residents are struggling with property taxes that are crippling their finances. Working families can't pay their medical bills, are getting crushed by high gas costs, and in too many cases, can't afford to send their children to college. It's time state government started working for the people. Let's start saving voters big bucks today," stated Brian X. Foley. "We need real relief, right now."
Supervisor Foley supports a plan, called a circuit breaker, which provides immediate tax relief and puts money into the pockets of working families making under $250,000/year, with a tax refund of 70% of what they pay over a percentage of their income.
"My opponent Caesar Trunzo has had 36 years to help lower property taxes and he's simply been unable to get the job done - instead, he's made the problem worse by raising our property taxes with unfunded mandates. Now that he is facing a tough race, he thinks that limiting the growth of our taxes to 4% without any actual relief is enough. It's not. My plan offers real relief, right now: big savings for seniors and working families," stated Foley.
Regina Corby Graham, a Mastic resident whose property taxes have doubled in the past decade, has a household income of $44,200/year and pays $6,400 annually in property taxes. Under the circuit breaker, she would receive a rebate of $2,624. "Since Caesar Trunzo came into office, property taxes have increased 384%," Corby Graham says. "It's outrageous that property taxes have risen so much. We need someone in Albany who will represent the interests of working people, and retirees like myself."
Young families, seniors, and those living on a fixed income, will also benefit from the circuit breaker plan. A senior living on a $70,000 fixed income with a total property tax bill of $8,000 would be entitled to a $2,660 rebate. This legislation does not affect the Enhanced Senior STAR program, nor the basic STAR exemption.
"Caesar Trunzo's plan is classic Albany double-speak," explained Beccah Watson, a spokesperson for the Foley for Senate campaign. "Instead of cutting property taxes and providing real relief, it raises taxes by 4% per year, with no actual money going back to overburdened taxpayers."
Brian Foley supports the "Tax Relief Triple Play" (S.8733), proposed by Senators Jeff Klein and Craig Johnson. The legislation is a three-pronged reform of New York's broken property tax system that controls spending with a sensible cap on property taxes, eases unfunded mandates on local schools and governments, and provides real relief to taxpayers through a circuit breaker tax rebate that is tied to income.
Some hard numbers on the flip...
