The Empire Page

Carole Kraus resides in Ulster County, 2 hours north of New York City. Raised in Kentucky, she attended U of Wisconsin and graduated from Emory U in Atlanta.

In the 70s, she lived in France where she studied oenology and assisted in wine making in Bordeaux. On return to the US, Carole worked for corporate fine wine companies through much of the 80s.

Her entrepreneurial drive took her next into the visual arts, first as private dealer and now as a private advisor to art collectors.

When she moved from New York City to her home in Kripplebush she encountered people who were devastated by excessive property taxation. At a community meeting she met many locals like a woman who described a life of hard work, successful child-rearing and financial desperation brought on by sudden increases in yearly school property taxes. Her home, purchased 20 years before for $50,000, was now valued at $125,000. Her taxes were based on current assessment. She was soon out of a home and a renter when she could no longer pay those taxes.

The injustice was appalling; a citizens group was formed to look at the inequity. While continuing work as an art advisor and teaching English as a second language, Carole engaged with a small group of Ulster County residents to push property tax reform onto the New York State policy agenda. Shortly after, the group joined forces with others in the state to form the New York State Property Tax Reform Coalition,  volunteers advocating for property tax relief and reform.