Democrats are proposing to extend a bad idea in New York City into a bad idea statewide.

Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, R-Westfield, and Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, have concerns about extending the proposed pied-à-terre from New York City to the rest of the state. We, too, have concerns.

A quick examination of real estate sales transactions over the past couple of years shows only one sale that would qualify for the pied-à-terre as proposed by state Sen. Patricia Fahy. We do think that such a tax will have an impact on Chautauqua County at some point, though the effect likely won’t be immediate. The number of high-value real estate sales is rising in Chautauqua County, but it may be a few years before we start seeing $2.5 million sales on a regular basis here. Our concern is that if there aren’t enough $2.5 million property sales to generate the type of revenue the state wants to generate, it’s entirely possible the threshold is lowered to something that does generate an immediate impact. We don’t know until after the state budget is passed what number is decided upon.

There are also still valid concerns in Chautauqua County – and in other lakefront communities throughout the state – how the DEC’s Part 664 Freshwater Wetland Act amendments will affect the very high-value properties the state now wants to tax. The annulment of the Part 664 regulations is likely a temporary speed bump for the DEC, but it bears watching to see exactly what ends up being included in the regulations if and when they are reintroduced.

That uncertainty is bad enough. Adding more taxes to the sales of high-value properties could add even more uncertainty to the types of housing sales that are a key to the financial future of all of Chautauqua County. Roughly one-quarter of the county’s taxable value lies around the shores of Chautauqua Lake. The escalating property values around the lake help pay for county services that everyone else in the county relies on. Slowing the pace of those lakefront property sales is bad for every county resident. Lakefront property values help keep the cost of the county’s fly car EMS system down for those in rural areas who rely on the program. The health of the lakefront economy helps keep the brunt of ever-escalating safety net spending off the backs of the rest of the county’s taxpayers.

Taxing the rich is a great idea until the rich leave. If that happens, costs trickle down to everyone else. The rich are leaving New York City and the state. A vacation home tax in rural areas of the state won’t help that situation. New York state ranked last in the Tax Foundation’s state tax competitiveness index. That’s not unusual – New York always ranks in the bottom two or three in the foundation’s ranking. But sometimes it feels like New York state is looking for ways to finish 51st in a 50 team race. This is one of those times.