New York City’s current property tax system is notoriously opaque, unfair, and regressive. For the past four decades, rather than dealing with its structural flaws, New York State has layered on a patchwork of exemptions and abatements to lower tax rates for various owners.
This report examines and measures the impact of rising residential property taxes on New York City households over the 2005 -2016 period, providing a detailed analysis of how property tax increases have affected households at different levels of the income distribution.