Contractors support tax cap

To the Editor: Today’s progress between Governor Cuomo and the Legislature on a property tax cap is a another critical step towards New York’s economic recovery and is welcome news beleaguered taxpayers, businesses and homeowners alike. Members of the Associated General Contractors of New York State build the public and private, transportation, civil and environmental infrastructure that make our economy work. It is clear, however, that our economy has been drowning with a property tax burden nearly 80 percent above the national average. Tackling this job-killing burden head on — as Governor Cuomo and the Legislature are doing — is necessary to ensure the survival of our economy and to stop the mass exodus of people, jobs and investment from our state. The tax cap will at last force a serious effort toward real and meaningful mandate relief in our state — including addressing long-festering issues like the Wicks Law and the Scaffold Law, which impose needless and burdensome costs on local governments, school districts and business. We urge legislators to support and quickly enact this property tax cap proposal to help make rebuilding possible. Mike Elmendorf, President and CEO Associated General Contractors of New York State