Business

Billionaire takes a property tax stand over pooping geese

Posted 10:47 a.m. today

A billionaire is fed up with the hundreds of Canada geese that flock to his upstate New York vacation home every summer, turning his lawn into a minefield of poop.

His solution? He's refusing to pay his $90,000 school tax bill until officials in the Finger Lakes town of South Bristol find a way to control the birds.

The town says geese on Tom Golisano's private property are his problem to solve, not the town's.

It's the latest in a string of tax battles for the Paychex payroll company founder, whose worth is estimated at more than $3 billion.

Golisano plans a class-action lawsuit on behalf of other upstate homeowners who believe they are overtaxed. He recently launched a website to give ordinary taxpayers the tools to fight city hall.