What would Henry George say about New York City’s notoriously lopsided property tax system?
Dr. Ibrahima Dramé’s response to the New York Times article “His Brownstone Is Worth $5.4 Million. Why Is His Tax Bill So Low?”
———-
New York State’s highest court issued a landmark ruling that may have lasting impacts on the City’s notoriously complex and lopsided property tax system. The decision came after a case was filed by Tax Equity Now New York, alleging that New York City’s property tax system unlawfully discriminated against New Yorkers of color and favoring wealthy, white residents.
Studies in the past have shown that the City’s tax system differs significantly from the rest of the country, often disadvantaging homeowners in predominantly non-Hispanic Black areas who end up paying a larger effective tax rate than those in areas with predominantly non-Hispanic white residents.
While the ruling does not elaborate on what changes need to take place, it rejected some of the methods used by the City which are blamed for the perceived unevenness. Among these, a complex system of assessment that is disconnected from the market value of properties. This leads not only to an unfairly distributed tax burden, it also drives up rents and makes housing unaffordable by discouraging development.
However, a simple solution to addressing both fiscal discrimination and housing underproduction can be achieved by adopting the tax shift proposed by Henry George, and known as the land value tax. Under such a system, taxes would fall exclusively on the market value of the land while improvement will be exempted. The result would be a color blind and fairer tax, with the added benefit of affordable housing.
__________
Read other WWHGS editions here: https://www.hgsss.org/what-would-henr…
