Billionaire refuses to pay real estate tax because of bird droppings on the lawn 

Thrice candidate for governor of New York and former owner of Buffalo Sabers Tom Golisano is so tired of the geese who turned the lawn near his summer home into the toilet that he refused to pay 90 thousand dollars of property tax, writes The New York Post.

Фото: Depositphotos

“Last summer it was horrendous—we came and saw 100 to 200 geese taking up residence on our lawn,” Golisano said.

According to him, because of the litter, the residents of the house cannot walk across the lawn barefoot, cannot play frisbee, he cannot even allow his grandchildren to run around the lawn.

“I pay this money in taxes, and I can’t use my property because of goose droppings,” the billionaire was indignant.

The entrepreneur says that he tried to use fishing line, repellent and traps to scare birds away from a house located near Canandaigua Lake in South Bristol, but to no avail.

Golisano said that he plans to refuse to pay real estate tax until officials in the city of Finger Lakes solve the problem with wild geese.

Mayor Daniel Marshall said the decision was wrong because geese “are a resident's problem, not a city's problem.”

He added that no other residents of the city, whose houses are located on the shore of the lake, have filed complaints against the geese.

The New York State Department of the Environment noted that birds are overcrowded in the region, causing problems for both homeowners and parks. But the agency reported that protecting private property from invading wild birds is not its responsibility.

Golisano, a founding member of the New York Independence Party, which advocates for lower taxes, said he plans to file the lawsuit on behalf of all the people who suffer from excessive tax burdens in the state.

According to Forbes, Golisano's fortune is 3,4 billion dollars. The main assets of a businessman located in Florida, he said, he chose this state to avoid too high taxes in New York.

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