Center Moriches Taxpayers Community Discussion Forum

Three area state senators unveiled a plan Friday to restore the School Tax Relief (STAR) rebate and create an income-based property tax payment plan for middle-class homeowners earning under $250,000 a year.

Sens. Craig Johnson (D-Port Washington), Brian Foley (D-Blue Point) and Jeff Klein (D-Westchester/Bronx), picked the home of a Central Islip family to announce the proposal led by Klein, the deputy majority leader.

"My plan provides targeted and progressive tax relief and puts money back in the pockets of those who need it most," Klein said. He pointed out that Westchester homeowners pay the highest property taxes in the state at an average of $7,908 annually; Nassau is next at $7,726, and Suffolk is fifth at $6,502.

Republicans noted that these same state legislators just two weeks ago voted to end the STAR rebates and opposed a GOP proposal to reinstitute it.

"It's hypocritical of them to do this now when they had a real opportunity to do this before the budget was passed and the money was there," said Michael Arens, speaking for state Sen. Charles Fuschillo (R-Freeport).

The senators held their news conference outside the two-story home of Douglas and Kecia Rames, respectively, a New York City roadway inspector and a Brooklyn bus driver. The couple pay about 12 percent of their combined $57,000 annual income in property taxes, Klein said.

Under his circuit-breaker plan, said Klein, the Rameses would get back about $2,700.

A "circuit breaker" trips if you earn under $250,000 and your school property tax payment is more than a threshold percentage. The threshold is 6, 7 or 8 percent based on rising household income categories. The lowest would be $90,000 a year upstate and $120,000 downstate. So, a $40,000 household paying 20 percent in school taxes would get roughly $3,920 in tax credits - about 70 percent of the overage.

Johnson said Democrats opposed a STAR program with no funding source.

"That's what makes this proposal different," he said. "We have a plan to pay for it."

The senators said restoration of the STAR program to its 2008 level would cost $1.5 billion, and their proposed income-based property tax circuit breaker to begin in 2010 would cost $2.5 billion.

Funding proposals ranged from revenue from negotiating with Indian tribes to tax cigarettes sold to nontribal reservation customers and splitting the receipts, to using billions of federal stimulus funds.

Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, who proposed a circuit-breaker idea as head of a state tax commission, said he still backs it.