New York City raises property taxes 18 percent.

• Position: News Briefs - Brief Article

Facing a $6.4 billion shortfall in the fiscal year that begins on July 1, the New York City Council voted 41-6 in November to raise the city's property tax rate by 18.5 percent and to cut spending by more than $840 million. The Council agreed to pass the tax increase in return for the restoration of $50.2 million in cuts to key services. The mayor had requested a 25 percent increase in the property tax rate and $844 million in spending cuts. The first property tax rate increase in more than a decade will raise the tax bill on the average single-family home to $2,024 from $1,853. Representatives of the real estate industry criticized the property tax increase...