The Land Zeitgeist is Changing, but old Exemptions are still an obstacle

[Scott Baker]

Hello Common Groundlings (and friends)!

 
Today, the NY Times correctly gave kudos to our new Mayor de Blasio for holding the new developer of a property to be built near Grand Central, higher than the Chrysler Building, responsible for $200 million in transit improvements:
Smart Growth on the East Side

			Smart Growth on the East Side Mayor Bill de Blasio is reviving a rezoning plan around Grand Central Terminal with a wiser approach.
			View on www.nytimes.com	Preview by Yahoo

While this is not a Land Value Tax, and it is a one-time payment instead, it at least acknowledges, in the words of the article, that:

It is only fair for the city to insist on needed public amenities in return for the right to build so big and high, and to place those costs on the developer, not the taxpayer. 

Now, if we could only pass such costs onto every land owner that seeks to benefit from location in the greatest American city, and do it consistently and continuously! 

However, the special deals, like the one Goldman Sachs got allowing it to pay zero property taxes on its new headquarters in both New Jersey and lower Manhattan, continue.  Another such deal, stretching back to 1982, allows Madison Square Garden to also pay no property taxes, saving them $350 million over the last 31 years:

State Pols Square Off Over Madison Square Garden's Property Tax Exemption - Midtown - DNAinfo.com New York

			State Pols Square Off Over Madison Square Garden's Prope... The World's Most Famous Arena has not paid up to $16 million in annual taxes for 31 years.
			View on www.dnainfo.com	Preview by Yahoo

Several local Politicians are working to change this and need your support.

Action Step: Call or write to Assemblymen David Weprin and Brian Kavanagh and state Sen. James Sanders to support their new bill to end this subsidy, which we are all paying for. 

The following article shows that battles such as this will be very difficult, and that the property-tax-capping Governor is NOT on our side:

Cuomo Has Raised Millions Through Loophole He Pledged to Close

			Cuomo Has Raised Millions Through Loophole He Pledge... The governor has called for closing a gap in the state’s campaign finance laws, but he’s taken far more through the loophole than his predecessors, much of it from ...
			View on www.propublica.org	Preview by Yahoo

Governor Cuomo has received $6.2 million from developers, some of whom he quickly granted property tax exemptions to.  One of the biggest donors was the developer of One57, a super-highrise luxury condo that those who attended my seminar on Case Studies in Property Development last Fall or again in February, may remember: Extell Development.  

			OpEdNews Article: Fairness, Sustainability, & Growth are... Presenting the case for Land Value Taxation to a mixed audience of community leaders, alumni of the Henry George School - which sponsored the event - and other i...
			View on www.opednews.com	Preview by Yahoo

Says the Propublica article:

Two LLCs affiliated with Extell gave the governor a total of $100,000 on Jan. 28, 2013—two days before Cuomo signed legislation that granted a tax break to Extell's One57 skyscraper in Manhattan, as well as properties owned by four other developers. Two other LLCs with ties to Extell gave Cuomo another $100,000 six months later. (The contributions were first reported last year by The Daily News.)

This is not quid-pro-quo says the Governor, because that would be, well, illegal.  But when you make the contacts above, you might also remind your assembly member or state senator, that New Yorkers are tired of subsidizing billionaires through their failure to pay property taxes.  In fact, we would like everyone to pay their fair share....

Until next time, happy landings...

Scott Baker - President: Common Ground - NYC; NY State Coordinator, Public Banking Institute; Opednews Blogger/Senior Editor; Huffington Post Blogger; Author

Video Appearances & Slideshows here:
http://newthinking.blogspot.com/

Petitions:
-- Commemorate President Lincoln's Assassination with 1 Billion Debt-Free Lincoln $5 Bills
-- Replace Property Tax with Ground Rent in New York State
-- Assess NYC buildings using comparative properties
-- California Dreaming: Set up a State Bank with abundant CAFR funds
-- Complete the East Side Manhattan Greenway from 38-61 Streets and save bikers, help the environment, and clear up traffic
-- Tax Vacant & Unused Land to Return its value to the Community
-- Close New York State's budget Gap with money from its own agencies by setting up a State Bank
-- Defend the Clean Air Act
-- Produce debt-free United States Notes
-- Reclassify the FED's account, from private to public

[Dave Wetzel, President - TheIU]

Many thanks for this press cut Scott re planning gain in New York.

I have been able to use it in a new paper I am writing with others for our UK's left-wing, socialist trade union the RMT (The Railway, Maritime and Transport Trade Union), showing how LVT might fund the London Underground.

My new email address is Dave.C...@gmail.com.

Best Wishes,

 

Dave

 

Dave Wetzel

The International Union for Land Value Tax and Free Trade
 

Tel: +44 (0) 208 568 9004

Mob/Cell: +44 (0) 7715 32 29 26

Skype: DaveWetzel42

40 Adelaide Terrace

Great West Road

Brentford.

TW8 9PQ

UK. 

 

www.TheIU.org

www.LabourLand.org

 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Common Ground NYC" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to common-ground-...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to common-g...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/common-ground-nyc.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.