Statement by Bruce Ventimiglia, Co Chairman of BALCONY and Chariman of Saratoga Capital Management , on the Suozzi Commission Property Tax Cap Plan

“The Suozzi Commission’s quick fix imposition of a property tax cap, a scheme which has failed in California – Proposition 13 and in Massachusetts, resulting in educational cutbacks and a decline of test scores is wrong for New York. The same formula , of property tax caps in New York would create a statewide educational disaster. At the very moment when American society is making an unprecedented transition from a manufacturing economy to a knowledge-based one, a New York State property tax cap would deprive our school districts of the necessary wherewithal to support this sea change. Today’s student is tomorrow’s information specialist. Without the right training and technical access to the expensive new machinery of the Information Society, this transition will be incomplete, and the entire society will suffer. We cannot place a cap on our children’s future. While property tax reform is indeed important, it makes no sense to cap the one tax that is almost universally supported by New York State citizens. “