S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4250
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 3, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
   ment Operations
 
 AN ACT to amend the real property tax law and the tax law,  in  relation
   to  preventing  the  transitioning  of  the  school  tax relief (STAR)
   exemption into a personal income tax  credit;  and  repealing  certain
   provisions of the real property tax law and the tax law relating ther-
   eto
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 6 of section 425 of  the  real
 property tax law, as amended by section 1 of part A of chapter 60 of the
 laws of 2016, is amended to read as follows:
   (a) Generally. All owners of the property who primarily reside thereon
 [and  who  are  not  subject to the provisions of subdivision sixteen of
 this section] must jointly file an application for  exemption  with  the
 assessor on or before the appropriate taxable status date. Such applica-
 tion may be filed by mail if it is enclosed in a postpaid envelope prop-
 erly  addressed  to the appropriate assessor, deposited in a post office
 or official depository under the exclusive care  of  the  United  States
 postal service, and postmarked by the United States postal service on or
 before  the  applicable taxable status date. Each such application shall
 be made on a form prescribed by the commissioner,  which  shall  require
 the  applicant  or  applicants  to agree to notify the assessor if their
 primary  residence  changes  while  their  property  is  receiving   the
 exemption. The assessor may request that proof of residency be submitted
 with  the  application.  If  the  applicant  requests a receipt from the
 assessor as proof of submission of the application, the  assessor  shall
 provide  such  receipt.  If  such request is made by other than personal
 request, the applicant shall provide the assessor with a  self-addressed
 postpaid envelope in which to mail the receipt.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD08286-01-1

 S. 4250                             2
 
   §  2.  Subdivision  16  of section 425 of the real property tax law is
 REPEALED.
   §  3.  Subdivision  2  of section 496 of the real property tax law, as
 amended by section 3 of part A of chapter 60 of the laws of 2016,  para-
 graph  (a)  as  amended  by  section  3  and paragraph (d) as amended by
 section 2 of part TT of chapter 59 of the laws of 2019,  is  amended  to
 read as follows:
   2.  An  application  to  renounce an exemption shall be made on a form
 prescribed by the commissioner and shall be filed with the county direc-
 tor of real property tax services no later than ten years after the levy
 of taxes upon the assessment  roll  on  which  the  renounced  exemption
 appears.  The  county  director,  after  consulting with the assessor as
 appropriate, shall compute the total  amount  owed  on  account  of  the
 renounced exemption as follows:
   (a) For each assessment roll on which the renounced exemption appears,
 the assessed value that was exempted shall be multiplied by the tax rate
 or  rates that were applied to that assessment roll, or in the case of a
 renounced STAR exemption, the tax savings calculated pursuant to  subdi-
 vision  two of section thirteen hundred six-a of this chapter.  Interest
 shall then be added to each such  product  at  the  rate  prescribed  by
 section  nine hundred twenty-four-a of this chapter or such other law as
 may be applicable for each month or portion thereon since  the  levy  of
 taxes upon such assessment roll.
   (b) The sum of the calculations made pursuant to paragraph (a) of this
 subdivision  with  respect  to  all  of the assessment rolls in question
 shall be determined.
   (c) A processing fee of five hundred dollars shall be added to the sum
 determined pursuant to paragraph (b) of this  subdivision[,  unless  the
 provisions of paragraph (d) of this subdivision are applicable.
   (d) If the applicant is renouncing a STAR exemption in order to quali-
 fy  for the personal income tax credit authorized by subsection (eee) of
 section six hundred six of the tax law,  and  no  other  exemptions  are
 being renounced on the same application, or if the applicant is renounc-
 ing a STAR exemption before school taxes have been levied on the assess-
 ment  roll upon which that exemption appears, no processing fee shall be
 applicable].
   § 4. Subdivision 6 of section 1306-a of the real property tax  law  is
 REPEALED.
   § 5. Subsection (eee) of section 606 of the tax law is REPEALED.
   §  6.  The  opening  paragraph  of  subparagraph (a) of paragraph 2 of
 subsection (n-1) of section 606 of the tax law, as amended by section  7
 of  part  A  of  chapter  60  of the laws of 2016, is amended to read as
 follows:
   To be eligible for the credit, the taxpayer (or taxpayers filing joint
 returns) on the personal income tax return filed for  the  taxable  year
 two years prior, must have (i) been a resident, (ii) owned and primarily
 resided  in  real property receiving [either] the STAR exemption author-
 ized by section four hundred twenty-five of the real  property  tax  law
 [or  the school tax relief credit authorized by subsection (eee) of this
 section], and (iii) had qualified  gross  income  no  greater  than  two
 hundred seventy-five thousand dollars. Provided, however, that no credit
 shall be allowed if any of the following apply:
   § 7. This act shall take effect immediately.