Either Way, Taxes Aren't Going Down

Putnam County residents are breathing a sigh of relief this week after learning the New York State Senate renewed a one-percent sales tax extender for the next two years.

In April, members of the Putnam Legislature called on Albany lawmakers to keep the status quo by raising the county sales tax from three-percent to four-percent. Since the current legislation expires on November 30, a renewal was needed.

The State Assembly approved the extender after it was introduced by Assemblywoman Sandy Galef without controversy, but due to the morass in the Senate during the past month, local officials feared dramatic property tax hikes of 39 percent next year if the bill was not approved.

Under the leadership of State Senator Vincent Leibell one of the first bills approved when the Senate returned to work last week was the Putnam sales tax extender.

In an interview with the county executive Monday, Bondi called it "essential for our future that the extender be signed into law by Governor Paterson. This is not allowing for additional revenue but merely gives the county what it has had in the past in order to pay its bills. The situation is critical because our sales tax revenues have plummeted."

For the first five months of 2009, sales tax receipts totaled $20, 784,698, a decline of more than $2.3 million over the first five months of 2008.

In 2007 due to fiscal challenges facing county government, Executive Bondi and the legislature authorized the raising of the county sales tax.

Legislature Chairman Tony Hay called the increase "fair because it affects everyone whether or not an individual is a property owner."

Legislator Vincent Tamagna agreed saying the "added one percent did not have an impact on the man on the street yet it has raised substantial dollars to offset spiraling property taxes."

Legislator Tony Fusco has opposed the increase in sales tax charging "we are unnecessarily overtaxing our shoppers."