Long Island has some of the most expensive property taxes in the world. Why is that? What can you do about it?
High property taxes make areas more exclusive and only affordable to the wealthiest home buyers who can keep up with them. They are a constant drain on finances, and a significant liability for those that overlook them or fail to pay them. Delinquent property taxes can cost you your home or place of business faster than falling behind on your mortgage payments.
How Are Property Taxes Calculated On Long Island?
In general, put simplistically, your property tax bill is a combination of your property’s tax assessed value multiplied by the tax rate.
However, there can be other miscellaneous fees and items on your tax bill. The most significant amount of many owners’ tax bills on Long Island are school district taxes.
This is way, in spite of claims of tax freezes and caps, the county and tax collectors always seem able to increase bills. One part of the bill inevitably seems to go up, even if other line items stay the same.
Why Are Property Taxes So Extremely High On Long Island?
Certainly there are wealthier, safer, more prosperous places in the world, with far higher quality of life and public services, that have lower, or even no annual property taxes. Not to mention better weather, and cleaner air.
High property taxes here are the result of a variety of factors, including:
- Voters at all levels continuing to vote for candidates, bills, and budgets that raise taxes
- Poor and inefficient management of resources
- Inefficient services
- School districts constantly asking for more money
- Fraud
- A history of reliance on property tax revenues
Perhaps most notably, it is about a failed system, with no motivation to fix it. People keep putting up with it, and so the taxes and flawed bills keep on going. Just like paying 4x the price for candy or eggs today, when egg companies are reporting a 718% surge in profits, during a ‘shortage’.
How To Lower Your Property Taxes On Long Island
Although those taxes seem to invariably go up every year, the property you choose to buy, and where it is located will determine how much these taxes are each year.
How much you and your neighbors participate in the process of voting and local budgets makes all the difference too.
What you can do right now is have Property Tax Adjusters Ltd., review your assessment and bill, and file a grievance on your behalf.