Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed a law that protects Orangetown homeowners from paying surprise tax increases.

The Homestead Act, proposed by Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee and Sen. David Carlucci, limits the shift between residential and commercial properties to no more than 1 percent from the previous year.

"What it’s going to do is give a lot more predictability to our residential and our commercial taxpayers so they won't see sudden swings in one direction or the other in their tax bills,” says Orangetown Supervisor Chris Day.

Officials say they will do it by spreading the cost over all businesses and homeowners in Orangetown, which will minimize the increase but affect everyone.

The new law will help business owners like Joe Iannuzzi afford to pay his taxes and keep his shop up and running.

Iannuzzi has owned his Gulf Express and Service Station in Pearl River for the past 26 years, but recently he says the town is taking a bigger bite of his sales.

"They increased our taxes I don't know - 10-15 percent," he says.  Iannuzzi believes this is what has caused some nearby shops to go out of business.

His business sits across the street from the old Pfizer campus on Middletown Road. Town officials say last year when the value of Pfizer went down, it put the tax burden on other local businesses and homeowners.