Check out this other graph, which shows that owner-occupied homes and small apartment buildings are taxed at much lower rates than walk-up rentals and apartment buildings with elevators. “Our tax rates on owner-occupied homes are actually some of the lowest among large cities. But who can afford to buy here?” Barro asks.

[Via Business Insider.]

So we know that rental buildings get taxed more than rental buildings in other cities and 6.4 times owner-occupied homes, but how much is really passed on to renters? In Boston, a study showed that landlords take care of 85 percent of the burden, but in New York it’s likely that more of the cost is shouldered by tenants paying inflated rents, mostly because apartment supply here is more limited and there needs to be some kind of incentive for landlords not to convert their buildings to co-ops or condos.

“Rent control does shield many New York renters from the burden of property tax increases. But that doesn’t help market-rate tenants like me. And tax abatements for new rental buildings are tied to requirements to set aside affordable units; again, the benefit of the abatement does not flow through to tenants paying market rate,” Barro concludes. “Living in New York is crazy expensive. Partly, that’s for reasons outside the control of policymakers. But one reason is this hidden tax on renters that New York has decided, uniquely among large cities, to impose. It’s a big mistake.”