-Caveat Lector- http://www.nydailynews.com/news/story/40354p-38103c.html
New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com Tax hike next year, too By DAVID SALTONSTALL DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF Tuesday, December 3rd, 2002 Get ready for sticker shock, New York. Property tax bills reflecting a whopping 18.5% increase will be mailed Thursday, after Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Gifford Miller officially signed the largest-ever hike into law early yesterday. But it may not stop there. With a $3 billion budget gap still looming over the next fiscal year, Bloomberg told the Daily News Editorial Board yesterday that additional taxes are all but unavoidable next year. "I think it is unrealistic for the city to close a $3 billion deficit ... by cutting back," the mayor said. "You have to raise revenues someplace or another." The mayor's plan next year calls for $1billion more in service cuts - and twice as much in new taxes. Besides help from the state, he is seeking help from the federal government, especially on Medicaid. Bloomberg's first choice for boosting revenues, he said, is a tax on commuters, which he predicted could net the city $1 billion "some ways or another" - either through an income tax or a more traditional surcharge. But he also didn't rule out the possibility of increasing income taxes on city dwellers if Albany lawmakers, who must approve a commuter tax, refuse to go along. "Look, we have to get $3 billion more in revenue," Bloomberg told The News. "If the Legislature said, 'We will let you raise your personal income tax but we won't give you a commuter tax,' we would have a very difficult decision. We have to balance the budget." 1 deficit gone - 2nd looms Bloomberg's tax talk came hours after he and Miller signed into law the 18.5% property tax hike, which with one stroke eliminated the deficit for the fiscal year that ends June 30 and cut next year's to $3 billion from $6.5 billion. The ceremony was listed as a public hearing, but the public was noticeably absent - no doubt because of the early hour. The event was held at 7:30 a.m., half an hour after the sun came up. Mayoral aides said the early start was necessary so the legislation could be driven to Albany and filed in time for bills to go out this week. The increase, which should net the city $837 million this year, will add an extra $344 to the average single-family homeowners' property tax bill over the next 18 months. Businesses, from the corner grocery to Manhattan's skyscrapers, will also feel the pinch and are expected to pass the hike along in higher prices and rents. But Bloomberg described the measure as a needed dose of fiscal medicine to stave off deep service cuts, like those that plagued the city in the 1970s and 1980s. "The thing that would drive people out of the city the most is crime going up, the fires not being put out, the garbage not being picked up," he told The News. Bloomberg said he still held out hope that Albany would approve some kind of commuter tax, even though Gov. Pataki and other Republican leaders continue to pour cold water on the idea. "Nothing has changed at this point," Pataki spokesman Mike McKeon said yesterday. "We will look at the mayor's proposal in its entirety." <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
