POINT OF VIEW New Year, New Laws
Many of us ring in the new year with a fresh set of goals and resolutions for a promising year to come. This year, Jan. 1 marked not only the beginning of 2012, but the day that a number of important laws in New York went into effect.
Most recently, New York proclaimed its first restructuring of the tax code in decades, providing the lowest tax rate for middle-class families in over 50 years. The new tax reform reduces tax rates for 99 percent of New Yorkers, while increasing the rate paid by millionaires and billionaires (Ch. 56 of 2011).
At the same time, hardworking families statewide will begin to see real property tax relief with the 2 percent property tax cap (Ch. 97 of 2011). The law helps curb large property tax increases and helps working families and seniors stay in their homes. And because the 2 percent limit can be exceeded by a 60 percent vote by the taxpayers’ school-budget vote, school budgets will not be put in jeopardy.