The New York Senate is working on ways to help New Yorkers cope with high property taxes - and we need your ideas. Scroll down to View and Vote on ideas
Property tax rates are driven by local expenses for schools, roads, health care, and other services. Many of these funding decisions are made at the local level, and they directly impact property and school tax levels.
The Senate recognizes there's a need for a joint state-local solution. Some people have proposed:
PROPERTY TAX CAPS: Capping property taxes, which would require either local cost or service reductions or both.
TAX RELIEF, REDUCTIONS AND REBATES: Direct tax relief to families and seniors through direct tax reductions and/or rebate checks, using state funds (which in a time of big deficits would require service cuts or new taxes). Tax relief can be provided as:
DIRECT REDUCTION of property tax bills (as in the Basic STAR program);
REBATE CHECK to all property taxpayers (as in the STAR Rebate program); and/or
CIRCUIT BREAKER to eliminate all or a part of property tax increases based on family income and local tax impact.
MANDATE RELIEF: Putting a stop to state policies and regulations that impose costs on local schools and governments without paying those costs.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT CONSOLIDATION: Consolidating overlapping local governments to reduce costs in an effort to reduce local taxes.
Your Senators are working on all these options and more.
I recently learned from a neighbor of mine whose primary residence is in another part of the state that he is disgusted with the STAR rebate being eliminated and he told me this represented $4,000 in his pocket. This individual makes over $500,000 per year. His primary residence is in a wealthier neighborhood in NYS than we are. I told him in our neighborhood we got a STAR rebate check for about $150 while we still pay over $10,000 on an annual basis in combined property taxes. Do any of you who are against the circuit breaker see the disparity??? There is a definate lack of fairness with regard to property taxes and the system has to change. Personally, I am very glad the STAR rebate has been eliminated because it will save the state a large sum of money. The Krueger bill (S4239) would help a lot of people in the middle and lower class. At the same time, the cost to the state with the elimination of STAR would be insignificant considering the size of current state budgets. If the state can afford to pay close to $1 billion to bring in a chip fab company via corporate welfare/NYS Empire Zone/NYS Empire State Economic Development Corporation, they certainly have the money to help honest, ethical, hard working, middle and lower class property owners. Of all the special interests that lobby government for favors, there is no group that is more neglected and abused than the residential property owner in their PRIMARY residence. For those who say the state doesn't have the money, I agree we are in a crisis. I have begged state elected leaders all over the state to cut spending and make the governments which impose unfunded mandates pay for those mandates such as No Child Left Behind and Medicaid. It hasn't worked!!! Give those who are paying a disproportionate share of their income toward taxes and we can use our resources to help implement a system which is more fair and equitable for all taxpayers. Cutting spending and eliminating unfunded mandates would be a significant part of the plan.
There are no solutions that kick in immediately except the circuit breaker legislation put forward by Sen. Liz Krueger and endorsed by the Omnibus Consortium. It is S4239. Any legislator who is serious about property tax relief and reform will support this bill....the bill exists...it isn't "pie in the sky" that will kick in after you have lost your home TO PROP. TAXES...the bill will help bring financial stability to the families of NYS who will no longer have to fear from tax bill to tax bill that their property taxes -now consuming 20%-30% sometimes 50% of income -will finally exceed their income...S4239 NOW
I am very happy that the star rebate was eliminated even though I have benefited from such a program in the past. I would rather give up a one time rebate check than have state employees give up 10% of there salary and benefits in order to balance the state budget. The Krueger Omnibus Circuit Breaker S4239 bill is a rational solution to the property tax problems that plague this state. The complicated formulars used to not address school districts needs in a fair and rational way. This fact has really been brought to my attention in that if our budget doesn't pass in my district this year the austerity budget will actually increase the taxes even more than the proposed budget. Something is really wrong here. I would urge the legislators of this state to seriously consider this bill as a long term solution to the state property tax problems.
New Yorkers desperately need property tax relief based on household income! Senator Krueger's bill (S4239) effectively caps each homeowner's or renter's school, town and county taxes based on their household income. Please support it and read the letter I sent below to Senator Krueger....
Thank you !!
8 Caldwell Circle, Ticonderoga, NY 12883
April 22, 2009
New York State Senator Elizabeth Krueger, Albany, New York 12247
Dear Senator Krueger,
Thank you, thank you, thank you for introducing S4239 - the New York State Omnibus Property Tax Circuit Breaker!
My wife and I are retired. Our combined annuity incomes are around $66,000 a year. Our Ticonderoga property taxes consume $10,000 -- 15% of our entire income -- each and every year. Next year, our Ticonderoga school district is beginning construction that will significantly increase our school taxes for the next 20 years!
My wife and I are increasingly concerned that we will be unable to afford our home! Our other home costs have remained very stable, including a good 4 3/4% fixed mortgage -- but our property taxes have done nothing but go up and up!
Without S4239, property taxes will continue to bear no relationship to household income for middle income families. When a family retires, loses a job, or falls ill, they are left with less disposable income, at the very time when property taxes demand more of it! Their income taxes will drop with a reduced income, but not their property taxes!
We live in a society that does not tax expensive boats, cars, stock portfolios, and other purchases or investments -- except once, when they are bought (sales tax) or once, when they are sold (capital gains). By what moral right do we tax homes without limit -- each year -- forcing people to sell their very homes after decades of ownership! It destabilizes the very New York communities we live in!
Your bill - S4239 - will provide immediate property tax relief for tens of thousands of struggling retirees such as my wife and myself. I am especially pleased that your bill includes all ad valorem taxes, since our Ticonderoga town and county taxes have been as big as our school taxes. You may wish to point out to other legislators and constituents that your bill will provide insurance even for those who are not currently eligible for relief under S4239 -- in the event they lose a job, become ill, or retire themselves some day.
You may also wish to point out that homeowners and renters can easily accurately estimate the property tax refund they would receive each year from the state under S4239. This will enable them to reduce their income tax withholding during the year. Thus, even though they must initially pay their property taxes or rent locally, they can effectively receive an early reduction in their state income tax withholding.
I hope that you will find an ally for S4239 with my State Senator, Betty Little. She has proposed a similar property tax circuit breaker for years, as have Assemblywoman Sandy Galef and my Assemblywoman, Teresa Sayward. My thanks to all of you for your wonderful support for real, significant property tax relief.
Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you enact passage of S4239.
Richard Wray Ticonderoga, NY
P.S. Folks in Ticonderoga are very pleased that our Ticonderoga Town Board spoke out to demand property tax reform over 3 1/2 years ago. Their unanimous October 13, 2005 petition to our legislature and governor can be read by visiting www.EyeOnTi.com. For your convenience, I've repeated it below.
PETITION TO NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATURE &
NEW YORK STATE GOVERNOR PATAKI -- October 13, 2005
WHEREAS, we, the undersigned, are the duly elected town supervisor and the town board of the Town of Ticonderoga, New York. WHEREAS, over 450 Ticonderoga property owners have signed petitions demanding reforms in the New York State property tax system.
WHEREAS, these petitions cite, in part, that:
“We are dismayed by recent … increases in our property tax assessments. Many of us have already experienced significant property tax increases in recent years. Now, once again, we are faced with property tax increases in double digits…. Many of us are retired, unemployed, or on restricted income. Many of us cannot afford increases year after year in our property taxes. At least, with income taxes, a reduced income results in lower taxes. Not so with property taxes. Property taxes bear no relation to … income or ability to afford the tax…. More and more folks are being forced to consider selling their homes because of property taxes they cannot afford. This undermines the stability of our community and the ability of parents to afford to raise their families in Ticonderoga ….”
WHEREAS, these same Ticonderoga property owners have petitioned the Ticonderoga Town Board to “take all possible measures to curtail the unlimited growth of property taxes in Ticonderoga ”. The town board was requested by these petitions to take three specific actions:
“(1) Limit the town budget … as much as possible so as to hold down the amount of revenues that must be raised by the local property tax under the current tax system.”
“(2) Work with state representatives to INSIST on property tax reform at the state level, with the goal of reducing or eliminating the property tax as a source of revenue, especially for school funding. This could be accomplished by state funding of all school budgets, perhaps utilizing a dedicated income tax or sales tax surcharge.”
“(3) Insist that state representatives incorporate some type of circuit-breaker relief for the individual property tax payer. This could be in the form of a limit on an individual’s increase in taxable assessment or a limit on an individual’s tax liability based on his or her income. Such circuit breaker relief is employed in many states, including Vermont .”
WHEREAS, a blank copy of the petition is attached, and signed copies are available for review.
WHEREAS, in response to these petitions, the Ticonderoga Town Board has worked and will continue to work to hold down spending at the town level; and it has spoken at various meetings to various New York state legislators about the need for property tax reform at the state level.
WHEREAS, despite these efforts, all indications are that local property taxes will continue to grow at an unacceptable rate.
Now, THEREFORE, the Ticonderoga Town Board does subscribe to and put forward the following:
Urgent Call for the New York State Legislature to Enact a
New York State Property Taxpayers Bill of Rights
SPECIFICALLY, that a briefly stated Property Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights be crafted to encompass two simple promises from the New York State government: (1) that property taxpayers are entitled to uniform and fair property assessments, including periodic property assessment reviews at 100% of fair market value in each and every taxing jurisdiction within New York State, except as capped by new legislation; and (2) that no individual residential property owner shall be asked to pay a property tax on his or her primary residence that is in excess of a percentage of the taxpayer’s annual household income, without regard to the value or location of the home itself.
IN SUPPORT OF WHICH, the Ticonderoga Town Board does subscribe to and put forward the following:
Urgent Call for the New York State Legislature to Enact
New York State Property Tax Reform
NAMELY, that the State Legislature should enact meaningful property tax reform legislation that will:
(1) provide, for any New Yorker’s primary residence, a “ circuit-breaker” cap, limiting current property tax liability to a percentage of household income, without an eligibility restriction based on income or the value of the home;
(2) cap future runaway property tax growth by placing a cap on the annual increase in the taxable assessment of primary residences or in the property taxes themselves;
(3) reduce or eliminate unfunded state mandates that add to local town and school property tax burdens;
(4) provide for full state funding of all basic school revenue needs, thus reducing or eliminating the need for local school property taxes;
(5) require that, in the future, all state jurisdictions reassess all properties on a regular, scheduled basis at a uniform 100% of full market value;
(6) expand the possible sources of funding for schools or local government to include one or more new options such as a dedicated income or sales tax; and alcohol, tobacco, gambling, or similar taxes;
(7) assure that local businesses are not disadvantaged by these tax reform measures; and
(8) provide that tax reform measures include, first and foremost, the elderly and the disabled.
IN ADDITION, pending the enactment of legislation at the state level, the Ticonderoga Town Board does hereby announce that it will NOT renew the present agreement with New York State , known as the “Six-Year Maintenance Plan”, for the year 2006. In most cases, for current Ticonderoga homeowners, this will probably result in no increase in assessments next year. We will consider a revaluation when or if new conditions warrant.
In announcing this, the Ticonderoga Town Board is mindful of the fact that approximately 67% of all New York communities do NOT subscribe to a policy of annual full assessment review at 100% of value. This has caused considerable dissension between taxing jurisdictions and resentment by taxpayers.
AND FINALLY, the Town Board of Ticonderoga believes it appropriate to call for a full, 'zero-based' review of the way we fund local services in this state. We believe the inequities of the existing system arise from an over-reliance on an antiquated taxation system seriously out of synch with the economic changes in our society and the new forms of wealth they have spawned, many of which are far more reflective of one's ability to pay, and none of which are taxed annually as our homes are. And yet New York State Government forces local governments to tax their residents' homes annually, with the cost of services and rising land values and assessments increasingly driving people out of family homes they have occupied for generations. This is a moral and ethical failure that demands reform. Please enact the reform we need.
Approved unanimously by the entire Board of the Town of Ticonderoga, N. Y.
____________________________ Bob Dedrick, Town Supervisor Date:______________
____________________________ Joe Michalak Date:__________________
____________________________ Bob Thatcher Date:__________________
____________________________ Wayne Taylor Date:__________________
[ end of text .... sorry we can't reproduce the signatures with the October 13, 2005 date. Copies of the signed petition are available in the Ticonderoga Community Building ]
Institute a Circuit Breaker based on the Omnibus Consortium's Property Tax Relief and Reform Act (www.omnibustaxsolution.org): 1. Limit Property taxes paid by individuals based on thier income - property taxes should not exceed more that 6-9% of income and should be on a sliding scale 2. Include renters in the Circuit Breaker 3. Include ALL local taxes in Circuit Breaker (not just school taxes) 4. Have same bracket structure for entire state - do not make NYC different than upstate - if someone has the same income and the same tax burden it does not matter where they live. 4. Require 3-5 year residency requirement 5. Support S 4239 - Krueger Circuit Breaker Bill
Many reformers have called on the State to pass meaningful property tax legislation. We are not looking for one house bills. We are looking for real reform.
The Omnibus Consortium understands that the property owners need real relief now. Not next session or some later date but today.
The Omnibus Consortium, comprised of tax groups all over the state, fiscal watchdogs, unions,renter groups, farm groups and elected officials drafted a bill with Frank Mauro who is known throughout the state for his fiscal genius.
This bill delivers meaningful (not star lite) relief to taxpayers. It provides for a middle class circuit breaker that would be phased in over a period of years in recognition of the states precarious fiscal situation. The circuit breaker will give relief to property owners whose property taxes (ALL- not just school) exceed their ability to pay . Senator Krueger introduced this bill ( S.4239). Of all the circuit breaker bills out there, this bill gives real relief with no baggage. Unfunded mandates, consolidation and other issues need to be addressed but will take thorough studies to implement. Senator Kruegers bill is the cleanest and most fiscally viable bill to give immediate, meaningful relief this session!
The second part of the bill has phased in approach to the State eventually taking over the school property taxes, as well as medicaid relief and giving back revenue sharing to towns and counties that was cut years ago.
This bill takes the best of the Galef/Little, the Cahill/Lavalle and the Senate Stop Bill.
The Omnibus Consortium is committed to getting meaningful relief passed this year with long term reform phased in next session.
Please support this post as well as Shebar and MKD67
The cost of public education should be moved from the regressive property tax to the progressive state income tax. This will result in a 2/3 reduction in property taxes for the average homeowner.
To bring greater efficiency to the cost remaining on property taxes to fund county, city, town, village and special districts there is a need to consolidate these local entities. County Govt. can remain unchanged but all special districts should be consolidated into the City, Incorporated Village, Townships in which they serve. This would include sanitation districts, parks, recreation, Library, Fire, Ambulance, roads, street lighting, sewers, etc.
These savings plus the school funding by the income tax would provide a total 75% reduction in property taxes.
SENATOR KRUEGER'S CIRCUIT BREAKER BILL, S4239, IS A "MUST HAVE" IN ORDER TO SALVAGE NEW YORK STATE'S DWINDLING POPULATION. OUR LOYAL RESIDENTS CAN NO LONGER CONTINUE TO RAISE THEIR FAMILIES HERE. THE PERCENTAGE OF TAX DOLLARS OWED, VERSUS WHAT PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO EARN, HAS FORCED MANY CITIZENS TO RETHINK THEIR LIVES AND FUTURES. NEW YORK MUST CREATE A LARGER EMPLOYMENT BASE, ESPECIALLY IN UPSTATE AND NORTHERN NEW YORK. OUR SONS AND OUR DAUGHTERS ARE LEAVING TO FIND MEANINGFUL EMPLOYMENT IN THE CITIES OR OTHER STATES. AS OUR TAX SYSTEM NOW STANDS, THEY WILL 'NOT' BE COMING BACK TO RETIRE IN OUR BEAUTIFUL STATE. WILL UPSTATE BE ONLY FOR TOURISTS?? WHO WILL TEND TO TO THE NEEDS OF THOSE THAT WE ADVERTISE SO HEAVILY TO HAVE VISIT OUR STATE? ? WHOSE CHILDREN WILL ATTEND OUR WELL EQUIPT SCHOOLS ? THIS KRUEGER CIRCUIT BREAKER BILL, S4239, WILL GIVE IMMEDIATE RELIEF AND 'HOPE' TO THOSE WHO ARE NOW SAYING; "WE CAN STAY HERE NO LONGER". I HAVE HEARD OF MANY BURDENED TAXPAYERS, WHO, WHEN SEEKING A SOLUTION TO THEIR TAX SITUATION, HAVE ENCOUNTERED THINGS LIKE; "WELL NOW, HAVE YOU CONSIDERED SELLING YOUR HOME?" or, "WELL, IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD IT, THEN SELL AND BUY SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN AFFORD!" THE FACT IS, THAT WHEN MOST OF THESE PEOPLE BOUGHT THEIR HOMES, THEY PROBABLY COULD AFFORD IT! THAT HOME WAS PURCHASED AND PAID OFF BY HARD WORK. NOW, IF THEY WANT TO SELL THEIR HOME, IT SHOULD BE THEIR DECISION, (NOT SOME OUTSIDE FORCE THAT TELLS THEM IT IS NOW IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM TO PAY THEIR TAXES, WHICH ARE NOW HIGHER THAN THEIR MORTGAGE EVER THOUGHT OF BEING !), BUT, YOU JUST DON'T SELL THE HOME THAT YOU LOVE UNLESS THERE IS NO OTHER WAY ! SO, IF THEY SELL THEIR TREASURED HOME, (EXAMPLE: SAY THEY BOUGHT IT IN 1976 FOR $30,000 AND ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO SELL IT FOR $140,000. WHAT THEN ? THEY CANNOT EVEN RECOUP ENOUGH MONEY TO BUY THAT CUTE LITTLE CONDO THAT HAS A $240,000. PRICE TAG. 'IF' THEY CAN EVEN QUALIFY FOR THE LOAN. THEY WILL NOW HAVE A NEW MORTGAGE (THEY HAD NONE BEFORE...), MAINTENANCE FEES, LETS NOT FORGERT THE TAXES......... AND.....THEY HAVE NO LAND, LESS SQUARE FOOTAGE, NEW NEIGHBORS, (THEY LIKED THE OLD ONES JUST FINE), AND PROPABLY NO PETS. WHAT A DEAL.............. MOST OF THESE GOOD PEOPLE PLANNED AND SAVED FOR THEIR RETIRMENT. NO, I AM NOT BLAMING THE CURRENT FISCAL BREAKDOWN FOR THEIR INABILITY TO MEET THEIR TAX REQUIREMENT. THIS IS THE FAULT OF A FAULTY SYSTEM THAT NEEDS TO BE TOTALLY REFORMED. THE KRUEGER CIRCUIT BREAKER BILL, S4239, IS THE BEST STEP THAT WE CAN TAKE TO GUARANTEE IMMEDIATE RELIEF TO THOSE IN DESPERATE NEED. THE SECOND PHASE OF THE KRUEGER BILL IS THE OMNIBUS BILL, A TOTAL REFORM PACKAGE THAT SHOULD BE ENACTED SOON AFTER THE KRUEGER CIRCUIT BREAKER BILL IS ENACTED. PLEASE GO TO www.omnibustaxsolution.org TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IT. BUT FIRST, PASS THE KRUEGER CIRCUIT BREAKER BILL S4239, THIS SESSION !
I cannot afford to live in my neighborhood anymore. 30% of my income is being paid to my property taxes. This percent must be reduced or people will continue to lose their homes and will choose to move out of New York State.
We need property tax REFORM, not superficial timid relief! We need an END to oppressive residential property taxes to fund education and change to an income-based system. We need equal opportunity in education for ALL New York kids. We need a return to TRUE progressive income taxes so the rich start to pay their fair share again, and to close tax loopholes. We need school district (and other) consolidation to save currently wasted resources and tax dollars. We need to stop taxing our precious farmland and small farmers out of existence, replacing them with more developments! We need to stop forcing our citizens, especially seniors, out of their homes if they can’t cough up out of control property taxes! We need both school and local taxes included in property tax reform. We need the numerous benefits of Kevin Cahill's Equity in Education Act, AO6009, NOW, passed together with the Krueger S4239 circuit breaker, to run concurrently WHILE CAHILL IS IMPLEMENTED! The Krueger circuit breaker alone is NOT the answer in the long run and fails to provide all the TRUE REFORM our citizens and students desperately need NOW! Let’s not waste our energy and power on half measures! CAHILL and KRUEGER TOGETHER, NOW!
They just don't work. The state is laying off workers and passing on its huge deficit to local property owners. Check out Fiscal Policy Institute, Citizens for Tax Justice and Good Jobs First to see just how disastrous the whole myth of awarding tax abatements to corporations has been. Kristin Brown
- Fund schools through the state general fund, not local property taxes. - Consolidate smaller districts to save money. - Reform administrative functions to cut down on unnecessary positions. - Stop unfunded mandates.
Kevin Cahill's Quality in Education Act (A06009) which would move the charge for school costs away from property taxes and on to income. But neither the Assembly nor the Senate seems to have the nerve to stand up to the wealthy and make them pay their fair share. This is the only solution to the problem and yet it's the one that lacks the political will in Albany to achieve. It requires that we go back to a graduated income tax structure and away from the flat one we have today where someone earning $25k and someone earning $250k pays the same rate of income taxes. The Omnibus, the circuit breaker, the caps... they're all measures that require you to have the money up front - which is exactly what people do not have.
A circuit breaker would protect lower income and fixed income families. If the state agrees to cover the difference you would be directly responsible for funding mandates and would be forced to monitor the cost of mandates. As long as they are unfunded they will just get passed, good and bad. The possibility of a tax cap is scary. You can continue to make mandates but not allow schools to raise taxes. In order to fund new mandates schools will be forced to compromise vital but non mandated programs through teacher layoff. Please support the circuit breaker.
There is a lot of waste and redundancy in local government and school districts. Consolidation and streamlining could save taxpayer dollars without cutting essential services; property taxes could be lowered as a result.
I am a teacher, I work hard and do really important work with children. The future of our country depends on the quality of education that our students receive. I am sick and tired of being considered a burden on the taxpayer. One of the major problems is that money for education comes from an "extra" tax in addition to the already considerable tax that we pay on our incomes. Also, it is the only tax that we get to vote yes or no on. In addition it is often a tax that is unfair because it is in no way in proportion to a person's ability to pay it. I say our income tax needs to be the source of money for education. I am appalled by how often we hear of billions being set aside for fences and surveillance in the southwest. No one thinks that is outrageous. Yet, when we have paint peeling, roofs leaking, and teachers scraping by on inadequate salaries - there are cries of outrage over providing more money. It takes a long time for a teacher to make it into the middle class. Starting salaries are not in the professional range even though our education and credentials have to be in the professional range. I would like to be respected and compensated for the work that I do.
Property Tax reform is urgent for many of us. I am 74, and have just rented my house to cover its own expenses. I have moved into a little cabin on the property, because I can no longer keep up with school and property taxes, flood and homeowner's insurance, and heating oil. My Social Security is no where near enough to cover expenses, let alone taxes. I used to be able to afford my house. Please vote to align the property taxes and school taxes with income.
I am proposing a bill for teachers and community workers to get bailed out. Every bank, every big company has gotten stimulus money of some sort. This in no way is helping the American people stop drowning in debt! I think that President Obama should award teachers, nurses, and anyone else who gives back to their community a stimulus package of their own and give them complete loan forgiveness, due to the fact that we are teaching and giving care to the communities and children who are in need and without teachers there would not be a competent President, lawyers, doctors etc..Most teachers’ student loans are 4x's as much as our salary and I'm talking after taxes which the government takes to pay back the banks that made loans because of greed! If this happened the banks and the student loan companies would get their money back. They would benefit and so would all of the struggling people of the United States with millions/billions of student loan debt because we wanted to make a contribution to help make the world a better place! Now we can’t even pay our bills because our student loans are too much to handle!
I was under the impression that when new york state started the lottery system that a chunk of the money would be going toward education and in turn would reduce the taxes new york residents pay. I don't hear too much about how that money is spent and since the taxes are always going up I wonder if it is spent on education at all. It seems to me that this area should be revisited.
These are vital to farmers, who bear huge costs in property taxes. But, they are poorly targeted-- the fact that poorer quality soil rates a higher exemption means that, often, non-farming rural landowners benefit much more than farmers. Some surely have their land hayed by farmers for relatively useless poor quality hay in a scam-like scheme to "farm the government." Often, the low-quality hay is not even taken off the fields... but taxes are exempted. This is particularly profitable for large landowners in high-tax (read: very wealthy) suburban locations. Fine to preserve farmland-- but do it outright, not by giving estate owners a tax break.
How on earth this multi-multi million dollar property has continued to enjoy a total exemption from property taxes ever since 1982 when they threatened to move the sports franchises is inexplicable. Long past time to pull the plug on this extorted benefit.
Ever since the Condominium Act was enacted back in 1964, condominiums have enjoyed preferential property tax treatment compared to ordinary homes and other property because assessors aren't allowed to base assessments on the selling prices of the individual units.
These properties have an assessment restriction (found in Real Property Law Section 339-Y, and Real Property Tax Law Section 581) that essentially requires the assessor to pretend that the entire complex/development is under a single ownership and estimate its value on that basis (typically using a rental property appraisal approach) and then allocate shares of that overall value back to the individual units.
In practice, this restriction often results in the units being assessed at a fraction of their actual market value. This de facto exemption of value is often in the range of 30 to 60 percent of the market value of the units. In more recent years, builders and developers have siezed upon this loophole and have been organizing their projects in the condominium form of ownership in order to take advantage of this special tax treatment. Many of the more recent condominium developments are extremely high-end offerings, sometimes even looking like ordinary single family dwelling subdivisions, that wind-up enjoying a relatively light property tax load funded at their neighbors' expense.
Other states, like NJ for example, had restrictions like NY in the early days of condominiums (when former apartment buildings were first being converted) but repealed those restrictions decades ago. It's long past time for NY to do the same.
Vote Up
Vote Down
Close