New York state's popular property tax cap may soon become permanent.

"The taxes in Nassau County are astronomical. It's why the people move," says Syosset's Stew Fleisig. That's why he says he supports the property tax cap, which limits governments and school districts to annual tax hikes of 2 percent.

When the law passed nine years ago, it included a provision that the law be renewed periodically, in case there were negatives impacts. But the state Senate will vote Wednesday to make it permanent.

"I think making the...the 2 percent tax cap permanent is going to give us some consistency and will bring relief to the residents of Long Island," says state Sen. Jim Gaughran.

Long Island Association President Kevin Law says a permanent tax cap is vital to Long Island's economy. According to an LIA study, the average Long Island homeowner would be paying nearly $4,000 a year more in property taxes today if the tax cap had not been approved.

"Over 90 percent of the property taxes come from residential properties," Law says. "But businesses, on average, pay almost twice as much as the residential. So it's a significant cost to do doing business here."

But not everyone supports the tax cap. School districts have complained that over the years, they've had to make drastic cuts because of the cap or couldn't implement new programs. And the bill still needs approval in the state Assembly, which is usually sympathetic to teachers unions, which oppose the cap. So Long Island's Assembly members say their task will be convincing their city counterparts to support it.

The law does allow tax hikes greater than 2 percent. But it requires the approval of 60 percent of governing bodies, or 60 percent of residents in the case of school budget votes