Assemblyman Dave McDonough (R,C,I-Merrick) today joined Senate Majority Leader Dean G. Skelos and Senator Charles Fuschillo as part of a joint press conference with the state Senate, state Assembly and business organizations from across the state to call for the Assembly passage of a property tax cap. Governor Cuomo’s property tax cap legislation was sponsored and passed by Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, but remains held hostage by Speaker Sheldon Silver in the Assembly. McDonough joined lawmakers to demand that the Assembly Majority respond to the will of taxpayers in Nassau County, which has the second-highest property taxes in the United States, according to the nonpartisan Tax Foundation.

“Recent actions by the Assembly Majority to thwart a property- ax cap demonstrate once again how out of touch Shelly Silver and the Assembly Majority conference are with the concerns of Long Island taxpayers,” said McDonough. “Both Governor Cuomo and the Senate are on board with this legislation, which would finally bring tax relief to Long Island. It’s time the Assembly Majority for once act on taxpayer demands.

“Just days after the ink on the state budget dried, the Assembly Majority had a different plan: they moved to pass luxury rent-control giveaways to millionaires in New York City. The political games need to end. Pass the property tax cap that all New Yorkers demand today.

“In a Siena poll released Monday, property taxes rated the top statewide concern among Empire State residents. The majority of families, homeowners and small-business job creators already have spoken: property taxes are their top priority. The Assembly Majority’s decision to pass more rent-control subsidies for politically-connected Manhattanites defines how truly unconcerned they are about the average New York taxpayers.

“I will continue to support Governor Cuomo’s property tax cap legislation because it is the top concern of families and small businesses in our district. Lawmakers cannot maneuver their way out of something three-fourths of New Yorkers support. We need a property tax cap to rein in the out-of-control, unsustainable spending that has driven people and jobs out of state. The governor’s proposal is the first positive step we have seen in a long time, and it is irresponsible to ignore this timely reform.”