Newfound allies are uniting for real property tax relief.
The Omnibus Consortium, which includes several members of community-based anti-tax groups, NYSUT, the Alliance for Quality Education and the Fiscal Policy Institute are working together to enact meaningful property tax reform through the use of a circuit breaker.
Unlike a so-called tax cap, a circuit breaker ties property taxes to homeowner's income - and ability to pay.
The consortium supports the Omnibus Tax Relief and Reform Act, sponsored by Assemblyman Steve Englebright, which provides short-term relief to tax payers and long-term solutions for tax reform.
"A cap on school property taxes - such as the one passed by the state Senate -would have had a devastating impact on public education," said NYSUT Executive Vice President Andy Pallotta.
Consortium member Gioia Shebar agrees.
"Anyone with good intentions towards the citizens of the state know that claiming any kind of 'caps' are synonymous with property tax relief is perpetrating a cruel hoax," said Shebar, coordinator of taxnightmare.org.
"The cap doesn't reduce an individual's tax bill and it doesn't cut waste and it doesn't fix what's wrong with the property tax."
For more information about the consortium and the omnibus bill, visit http://omnibustaxsolution.org.