School Tax Growth Sinks under Cap

School districts, which generate the largest share of New York State's high local property taxes, have now entered their fourth annual budgeting cycle under a property tax cap enacted in 2011. The tax cap was adopted following a 30-year period in which school tax levies rose from $3.5 billion to $19.7 billion--an average of 6.0 percent a year during a period when inflation averaged 3.3 percent a year It seems clear the tax cap is making a difference. When compared to both short- and long-term historical trends, the cap has yielded significantly lower average school tax increases, according to the latest available property tax data for New York school districts. Since the tax cap took effect in 2012: (1) School tax levies have risen by an average of just 2.2 percent annually--the lowest in any four-year period since 1982; (2) Compared to what they would have owed if school tax levies had grown at the 30-year average rate of 6.0 percent a year, property owners have saved a total of $7.6 billion, including $3.3 billion in 2015-16 alone; (3) Using a different benchmark--the 3.0 percent average growth of the four years immediately prior to the cap's adoption--tax savings have totaled $1.3 billion, including $608 million in 2015-16 alone; and (4) Excluding new taxes generated by property improvements, inflation-adjusted school property tax levies have decreased.