City overtaxes the small while abating the large.

I have just finished doing what I have done a million times before arguing with a City employee about a bill I received. Once again the government knows more about a building that I manage then I do. They insist there is a central air conditioning unit on a floor where there isn't one.

And why should I have to pay a fee to the city for the privilege of having a unit on my premises anyway?

When you think about the thousands of dollars we pay the City in order to own real estate or have our businesses located here, it is phenomenal. If a business wants to install an illuminated sign they must pay a fee every year to the government. There is a fee for having a boiler, an oil tank or an awning. There is a fee for having rent regulated apartments, an elevator or a standpipe. Why?

The one tax though that I strongly object to would be the unincorporated business tax. It is nothing more than double taxation. Individuals who have no reason to incorporate are taxed in New York City as if they were. This is probably the single biggest reason that entrepreneurs flee this town. Remember, this tax is on top of the income tax you pay to the City.

Sometimes I feel like a punch drunk fighter clinging to the ropes, barely managing to stay on my feet. Perhaps if things ran more smoothly in the City's bureaucracy I wouldn't begrudge paying these outrageous sums. But as usual, the small businessman gets socked while the large corporations are given tax abatements to stay put in this morass.

It is patently unfair to give any large company a tax break for staying in the city. Every time this is done, we small owners make up the difference. Wouldn't it be better just to lower taxes for everyone? Instead, Giant Corporation X states that if government doesn't cut a deal with them, they are leaving. Corporation X gets the break and I pay because I don't possess any clout.

Thousands of small businesses pay to keep the city going. Millions of people pay for services that are non-existent. We don't have the political muscle to have an abatement of our real estate taxes or other perks. For every large corporation that receives "welfare," there are hundreds of small businessmen and owners who foot the bill.

Whether it makes sense for our government to operate that way is not the question. Some studies have been done that show giving such subsidies may be beneficial, while other studies demonstrate that they are not to the local economy. But I can tell you how it makes me fell - like a big sap. How just is it for some multi-million dollar corporation to pay proportionately less taxes on their income then I do?

For years New York was the place that people wanted to make their home and open their business. The trend for the last 50 years has been for people to leave. First the city, then the state, and finally the metropolitan region, for greener pastures. In the past several years there has been an influx of immigrants to the region, especially to the City, which has augured those trends. However, as these immigrants' children and grandchildren become better educated and more "Americanized," they too begin to leave.

I have heard some say that these immigrants will revitalize the area and that is certainly true for the short-term. The only way to keep these newer groups is to reform the way our local and state governments do business. With the changing nature of work from manufacturing to knowledge-based, where we work will become a more esoteric choice. For example - am I writing this from my office on 46th Street or from my home in Rockland County or my condo in Florida or on vacation in Italy?

I have often worked from home in the last several years. Doing reports, analysis, correspondence, leases and speaking on the phone; working with the same efficiency as if I were at my New York City office. With faxes, 800 phone numbers and overnight delivery. I could choose to have my office anywhere and still do my business just as well.

How long will it be before I and thousands of other small businessmen and entrepreneurs decide it just isn't worth the aggravation and expense to maintain an office in the city?

(The author is a Real Estate Consultant advising owners, co-ops and condominiums, and welcomes responses. Write him at 21 West 46th Street, NY, NY 10036 or call 212-921-8043).