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Q&A
Impact of tax burdens on commercial properties and affordable housing
5:31:32
ยท
146 sec
Councilmember Brooks-Powers inquires about balancing the city's revenue needs with creating a fairer tax environment for commercial property owners and apartment building landlords. Commissioner Niblack explains the department's approach to property assessment and its impact on different types of properties.
- The Department of Finance focuses on fair property assessment rather than revenue raising.
- They aim to reflect market conditions in their annual assessments.
- Recent assessments showed no growth in assessed value for regulated rental buildings, contrasting with increases for unregulated buildings due to rising market rents.
- The commissioner emphasizes their commitment to valuing properties as fairly and accurately as possible within the existing framework.
Selvena Brooks-Powers
5:31:32
Chair, if I can ask one more question.
5:31:34
Impact on commercial property and affordable housing.
5:31:38
Many commercial property owners and apartment building landlords face significantly higher tax burdens compared to other cities making it challenging to sustain businesses and develop affordable housing.
5:31:51
How does the Department of Finance plan to balance the city's revenue needs with creating a fairer tax environment that supports economic growth and affordability?
Preston Niblack
5:32:03
I I will say in as a general statement here, we and I I know people are skeptical about this statement, but I'm gonna say it because it's true.
5:32:14
We're not in the business of raising revenue.
5:32:16
We're in the business of assessing property fairly.
5:32:20
We try to assess property every year in a way that reflects what we believe to be the market conditions and our assessment methodology.
5:32:30
And that yields ultimately what is the tax revenue.
5:32:39
I am aware certainly of the burden on all properties of the property tax system.
5:32:49
I will say one thing that we noticed this year was that the we looked at rental buildings regulated versus unregulated.
5:33:00
The regulated buildings did not have any growth in their assessed value.
5:33:04
I believe it was slightly negative if I recall correctly.
5:33:07
So that really reflects I think that we are doing a decent job at distinguishing properties that are regulated and don't have the ability to raise their rents at the market rate compared to regulated buildings which saw big increases because of the increases in rents that we're all familiar with.
5:33:30
I think, again, we do our best to value properties as fairly and accurately as we can.
Selvena Brooks-Powers
5:33:37
Thank you for that.
5:33:39
And I look forward to engaging with the Department of Finance around the tax reform that's much needed especially in places like Southeast Queens where we know that the taxes are a heavy burden for a lot of our house rich, cash poor families that exist there.
5:33:57
Thank Understood.