By Philip Newman
Quinn brought up the subject of tax relief for renters in her State of the City address last Thursday and said she would push for legislation in the City Council to authorize it.”Over two-thirds of our residents rent their homes and for too long they've been forgotten and ignored when it comes to tax relief,” said Quinn, a former advocate for tenants.Quinn's proposal would be similar to one advocated by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and which authorized a $400 property tax credit to homeowners in 2004.Under the Quinn proposal, a $300 tax credit would go to persons earning less than $43,000, to married couples earning less than $54,000, to one-child families earning less than $65,000 and to two-child families earning less than $75,000.Renters would apply for the tax credit when they filed their personal income taxes with the city and state. The changes would require approval by the New York State Legislature.Property owners were socked with an 18.5 percent tax increase as result of the attack on the World Trade Center, which caused massive loss of tax revenue and jobs.”After Sept. 11, we had to raise property taxes,” Quinn said. “But we made a promise Ð a promise to reduce those taxes when times were better. But homeowners aren't the only ones who sacrificed for the good of our city.”Median rents rose in New York City by 31.5 percent between 1999 and 2005.Quinn said the tax benefit would cost the city an estimated $261 million and that around 1.1 million New York City households would be eligible.Whether Bloomberg plans to support the proposal was not immediately clear, although his backing appeared to be essential to its passage.
