4 Alb. Govt. L. Rev. 427 (2011)
Steven V. Melnik & David S. Cenedella
The property tax burden in New York State is jeopardizing the
sustainability of New York’s entire property tax system. In
reaction to property tax growth rates that are substantially
higher than income growth rates, and an abnormally high
property tax burden, New York taxpayers are beginning to
organize an anti-property tax campaign reminiscent of the
“taxpayer revolution” that led to voter initiatives such as
Proposition 13 in California during the 1970s. In response to
growing voter dissatisfaction, and perhaps to prevent a property
tax rebellion, numerous measures to improve the property
taxation system in New York have been proposed. Unfortunately, however, many of these proposals merely shift the property tax burden from one set of taxpayers to another or shift revenue collections from property tax to a different type of tax and therefore address only the consequences of the underlying problem and not the problem itself.