Council Speaker Johnson says middle-class homeowners need a tax break

He proposed a $400 tax rebate Wednesday

Corey Johnson and Co-op City in the Bronx (Credit: Twitter and Flickr)
Corey Johnson and Co-op City in the Bronx (Credit: Twitter and Flickr)

Fresh-faced City Council Speaker Corey Johnson wants middle-class homeowners in the city to get a tax break.

Though not clear how many “middle-class” homeowners there are in a city where the median home prices even in Queens are well over $500,000, Johnson floated a $400 tax rebate for co-op and condominium owners making less than $150,000 a year, Crain’s reported.

“We have a broken property-tax system, one that favors some homeowners over others,” said Johnson, in his Wednesday response to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s budget plan. “But [a comprehensive reform] won’t happen overnight. So I’m proud our budget response includes relief in the meantime.”

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Johnson also expressed support for reforms of the overall property tax system that favors homeowners in wealthier and whiter parts of the city, which is one of the complaints of a coalition suing the city on this matter, Tax Equity Now.

The Council speaker’s proposal includes the creation of a new property tax commission, helmed by experts who will figure out how to lower property tax burdens for some while avoiding too much damage to the city’s revenue streams. [Crain’s] Will Parker