Get off my lawn, I'm entitled to my tax breaks!

Speaker Straus:

Are you for or against capping the Over 65 Homestead exemption? It's my understanding that we cap property taxes for those 65+ because they're likely retired and less able to keep up with rising property taxes. We don't want them forced to sell because of the taxes. I would think there is broad support for this idea. But I would suggest this principle no longer applies when we're looking at highly appraised HS properties. Do we need to give a tax break on houses worth $1 million? $2 million? I don't know how much revenue would be recaptured if the Over 65 HS exemption were capped, but perhaps you could ask the Comptroller's office to figure that out. Please let me know whether you support capping the Over 65 Homestead exemption, and if so, how you would cap it. Thank you in advance for your candid response.

Sincerely,
luridtransom