He has tried everything to keep the Canada geese off the lawn of his lakeside vacation home in South Bristol, N.Y. without any luck. Now Tom Golisano is refusing to pay the $60,000 school tax on his vacation property and has threatened a class-action lawsuit against the town. He is a former owner of the Buffalo Sabres, a founder of the payroll company Paychex and a philanthropist. His net worth is estimated by Forbes at $3.4 billion and he gives generously to health care, those with developmental and intellectual disabilities and to higher education.
Yet he feels he is taken advantage of by the taxation system and says his crusade is based on principle.
A minefield of dropping
This past summer up to 200 geese lined the lawns of Golisano's summer home leaving behind a mess of bird droppings. He tried stringing fishing lines, spraying strong smelling repellents and used a wolf decoy all with no success. He says Canada geese are responsible for turning his lawn into a minefield of droppings and that last summer was horrible with 100 to 200 geese taking up residence on their property. This made it impossible to walk outside barefoot and prevented the grandchildren from playing on the lawn.
Protest against taxation system
Golisano is protesting and taking a stand on the bird dropping mess that has made it impossible for him to use his property.
He is going after the town of Finger Lakes of South Bristol by refusing to pay his $90,000 school tax bill until they find a way to control the geese population. But the billionaire is taking his tax protest even further by threatening to file a Class Action Lawsuit because he feels the taxation system is inequitable and flawed.
The lawsuit will be filed on behalf of other homeowners who feel they are unfairly taxed. He feels that tax assessors are often untrained and incapable of assessing property values accurately.
The crusading billionaire
This is not the first time billionaire Golisano has taken on the taxation system or anyone else whom he felt tried to rob him.
He took legal action in 2010 and succeeded in getting the property taxes on his home near Rochester reduced to $60,000 from $200,000. He also won a $50.000 judgment after he sued the person remodeling his yacht for overcharging him. He currently has a website set up - TaxMyPropertyFairly.com to help other property owners who feel they are unfairly taxed.
An over-population of geese
It seems that the New York Department of Environmental Conservation is aware that there is a problem with the over-population of geese. According to the department, non-migrating Canada geese are causing problems for farmers, parks, and homeowners. The agency offers suggestions for those affected to control the problem but says that the agency could come up with a coordinated plan to control the nuisance.