Article is taken from lohud.com<\/p>\n
Westchester is the first county in the nation to surpass the $10,000 median property-tax mark, and Rockland and Putnam are not far behind, new census estimates released today show.<\/p>\n
The estimates for last year\u2019s taxes do not reflect any impact from the state tax cap that might be seen in bills arriving this year, but some taxpayers are upset by both the amount of their tax bills and the cutbacks in services they\u2019ve seen lately.<\/p>\n
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\nSee new and comparative property tax and income statistics for Westchester, Rockland, Putnam compared to the rest of the nation here
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\u201cThe more we pay, the less we get,\u201d said Rob Riccardelli.<\/p>\n
The Stony Point resident said his taxes are twice the Rockland median of $9,376. \u201cIn Stony Point, it\u2019s high taxes with cutting at the town level and our students getting less of an education at the other end.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the 2011 estimates from the Census Bureau\u2019s American Community Survey, Westchester\u2019s median property-tax bill rose to $10,000 from $8,890 in 2008. Rockland\u2019s ranks third nationally at $9,376, up from $8,430, and Putnam\u2019s, 12th in the nation, went to $7,851 from $7,324.<\/p>\n
The estimates are based on surveys of total property taxes paid in a year from all taxing entities.<\/p>\n
Median means half pay more, half pay less.<\/p>\n
The impact of the nation\u2019s highest property taxes is accentuated by stagnant income in the Lower Hudson Valley.<\/p>\n
Westchester\u2019s median household income dropped from $79,448 in 2008 to $77,006 last year, and Rockland\u2019s fell from $85,363 to $82,217.<\/p>\n
Putnam\u2019s income rose slightly from $89,928 to $90,735.<\/p>\n
The combination of lower income and higher taxes was typical of affluent New York suburbs: It was the same case in Nassau and Suffolk in New York, as well as Bergen County in New Jersey and Fairfield in Connecticut.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Chappaqua $10,000 is nothing \u2014 I had that 20 years ago. There are people with $50,000 school-tax bills,\u201d said Jim McCauley of BEST4NY, a group that advocates mandate relief as a way to control property taxes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Article is taken from lohud.com Westchester is the first county in the nation to surpass the $10,000 median property-tax mark, and Rockland and Putnam are not far behind, new census estimates released today show. The estimates for last year\u2019s taxes … Continue reading