STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9217 IN ASSEMBLY February 16, 2024 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. REILLY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to real property tax exemptions for property in cities having a population of one million or more and owned by certain veterans or their family members The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph 2 of subdivision 1 of section 458 of the real 2 property tax law, as amended by chapter 425 of the laws of 2014, is 3 amended to read as follows: 4 (2) Except as provided in subdivision five of this section, no such 5 exemption on account of eligible funds paid on account of military or 6 naval services rendered by an individual shall be allowed in excess of 7 seven thousand five hundred dollars; provided, however, in a city with a 8 population of one million or more, an exemption on account of eligible 9 funds paid on account of military or naval services rendered by an indi- 10 vidual shall equal forty percent of eligible funds, but in no case shall 11 such exemption be allowed in excess of two thousand dollars. For the 12 purposes of this subdivision any established exemption, or newly claimed 13 exemption, or an aggregate thereof, as the case may be, in excess of any 14 multiple of fifty dollars shall be regarded as being the nearest multi- 15 ple of fifty dollars and allowed in such amount. If the amount of such 16 exemption has no nearest multiple of fifty dollars, it shall be regarded 17 as being the next higher multiple of fifty dollars and allowed in such 18 amount. The mingling of such eligible funds with other funds or their 19 retention by the United States for insurance premiums shall not bar the 20 granting of a claim for such exemption. 21 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 458 of the real property tax law, as 22 amended by section 82 of part PP of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022, is 23 amended to read as follows: 24 2. Real property purchased with moneys collected by popular 25 subscription in partial recognition of extraordinary services rendered 26 by any veteran of world war one, world war two, or of the hostilities 27 which commenced June twenty-seventh, nineteen hundred fifty, who (a) was EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD08706-01-3
A. 9217 2 1 honorably discharged from such service, or (b) has a qualifying condi- 2 tion, as defined in section one of the veterans' services law, and has 3 received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such 4 service, or (c) is a discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in section one 5 of the veterans' services law, and has received a discharge other than 6 bad conduct or dishonorable from such service, and who sustained perma- 7 nent disability while on military duty, either total or partial, and 8 owned by the person who sustained such injuries, or by his or her spouse 9 or unremarried surviving spouse, or dependent father or mother, is 10 subject to taxation as herein provided. Such property shall be assessed 11 in the same manner as other real property in the tax district. At the 12 meeting of the assessors to hear complaints concerning the assessments, 13 a verified application for the exemption of such real property from 14 taxation may be presented to them by or on behalf of the owner thereof, 15 which application must show the facts on which the exemption is claimed, 16 including the amount of moneys so raised and used in or toward the 17 purchase of such property. No exemption on account of any such gift 18 shall be allowed in excess of five thousand dollars; provided, however, 19 in any city with a population of one million or more, no exemption on 20 account of any gift shall be allowed in excess of two thousand dollars. 21 The application for exemption shall be presented and action thereon 22 taken in the manner provided by subdivision one of this section. If no 23 application for exemption be granted, the property shall be subject to 24 taxation for all purposes. The provisions herein, relating to the 25 assessment and exemption of property purchased with moneys raised by 26 popular subscription, apply and shall be enforced in each municipal 27 corporation authorized to levy taxes. 28 § 3. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 458-a of the real prop- 29 erty tax law, as amended by chapter 606 of the laws of 2021, is amended 30 to read as follows: 31 (a) "Period of war" means the Spanish-American war; the Mexican border 32 period; World War I; World War II; the hostilities, known as the Korean 33 war, which commenced June twenty-seventh, nineteen hundred fifty and 34 terminated on January thirty-first, nineteen hundred fifty-five; the 35 hostilities, known as the Vietnam war, which commenced November first, 36 nineteen hundred fifty-five and terminated on May seventh, nineteen 37 hundred seventy-five; [and] the hostilities, known as the Persian Gulf 38 conflict, which commenced August second, nineteen hundred ninety; in any 39 city with a population of one million or more, the hostilities, known as 40 the Iraq war, which commenced March, two thousand three; and in any city 41 with a population of one million or more, the hostilities, known as the 42 Afghanistan war, which commenced October seventh, two thousand one. 43 § 4. Subdivision 2 of section 458-a of the real property tax law, as 44 added by chapter 525 of the laws of 1984, paragraph (a) as amended by 45 chapter 899 of the laws of 1985, paragraph (b) as amended by chapter 473 46 of the laws of 2004, paragraph (c) as amended by chapter 100 of the laws 47 of 1988, subparagraph (i) of paragraph (d) as amended by chapter 332 of 48 the laws of 2016 and subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (d) as amended by 49 chapter 381 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows: 50 2. (a) Qualifying residential real property shall be exempt from taxa- 51 tion to the extent of fifteen percent of the assessed value of such 52 property; provided, however, that such exemption shall not exceed twelve 53 thousand dollars or the product of twelve thousand dollars multiplied by 54 the latest state equalization rate for the assessing unit, or in the 55 case of a special assessing unit, the latest class ratio, whichever is 56 less; provided, however, in any city with a population of one million or
A. 9217 3 1 more, qualifying residential real property shall be exempt from taxation 2 to the extent of six percent of the assessed value of such property; 3 provided, further, that such exemption shall not exceed four thousand 4 eight hundred dollars or the product of four thousand eight hundred 5 dollars multiplied by the latest class ratio, whichever is less. 6 (b) In addition to the exemption provided by paragraph (a) of this 7 subdivision, where the veteran served in a combat theatre or combat zone 8 of operations, as documented by the award of a United States campaign 9 ribbon or service medal, or the armed forces expeditionary medal, navy 10 expeditionary medal, marine corps expeditionary medal, or global war on 11 terrorism expeditionary medal, qualifying residential real property also 12 shall be exempt from taxation to the extent of ten percent of the 13 assessed value of such property; provided, however, that such exemption 14 shall not exceed eight thousand dollars or the product of eight thousand 15 dollars multiplied by the latest state equalization rate for the assess- 16 ing unit, or in the case of a special assessing unit, the class ratio, 17 whichever is less; provided further, that, in any city with a population 18 of one million or more, where the veteran served in a combat theatre or 19 combat zone of operations, as documented by the award of a United States 20 campaign ribbon or service medal, or the armed forces expeditionary 21 medal, navy expeditionary medal, marine corps expeditionary medal, or 22 global war on terrorism expeditionary medal, qualifying residential real 23 property also shall be exempt from taxation to the extent of four 24 percent of the assessed value of such property; provided further, that 25 such exemption shall not exceed three thousand two hundred dollars or 26 the product of three thousand two hundred dollars multiplied by the 27 class ratio, whichever is less. 28 (c) In addition to the exemptions provided by paragraphs (a) and (b) 29 of this subdivision, where the veteran received a compensation rating 30 from the United States veteran's administration or from the United 31 States department of defense because of a service connected disability, 32 qualifying residential real property shall be exempt from taxation to 33 the extent of the product of the assessed value of such property multi- 34 plied by fifty percent of the veteran's disability rating; provided, 35 however, that such exemption shall not exceed forty thousand dollars or 36 the product of forty thousand dollars multiplied by the latest state 37 equalization rate for the assessing unit, or in the case of a special 38 assessing unit, the latest class ratio, whichever is less. For purposes 39 of this paragraph, where a person who served in the active military, 40 naval or air service during a period of war died in service of a service 41 connected disability, such person shall be deemed to have been assigned 42 a compensation rating of one hundred percent; provided, however, in any 43 city with a population of one million or more, in addition to the 44 exemptions provided by paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision, where 45 the veteran received a compensation rating from the United States veter- 46 an's administration or from the United States department of defense 47 because of a service connected disability, qualifying residential real 48 property shall be exempt from taxation to the extent of the product of 49 the assessed value of such property multiplied by twenty percent of the 50 veteran's disability rating; provided further, that such exemption shall 51 not exceed sixteen thousand dollars or the product of sixteen thousand 52 dollars multiplied by the latest class ratio, whichever is less. 53 (d) Limitations. (i) The exemption from taxation provided by this 54 subdivision shall be applicable to county, city, town, village and 55 school district taxation if the governing body of the school district in 56 which the property is located, or in the case of a city with a popu-
A. 9217 4 1 lation of one million or more, the local legislative body, after public 2 hearings, adopts a resolution, or in the case of a city with a popu- 3 lation of one million or more, a local law, providing such exemption, 4 the procedure for such hearing and resolution or local law shall be 5 conducted separately from the procedure for any hearing and local law or 6 resolution conducted pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, 7 paragraph (b) of subdivision four, paragraph (d) of subdivision six and 8 paragraph (b) of subdivision seven of this section; provided, however, 9 that in any city with a population of one million or more, the exemption 10 from taxation provided by this subdivision shall be applicable to city 11 taxes and taxes levied for local school purposes. 12 (ii) Each county, city, town, village or school district may adopt a 13 local law to reduce the maximum exemption allowable in paragraphs (a), 14 (b) and (c) of this subdivision to nine thousand dollars, six thousand 15 dollars and thirty thousand dollars, respectively, or six thousand 16 dollars, four thousand dollars and twenty thousand dollars, respective- 17 ly. Each county, city, town, village or school district is also author- 18 ized to adopt a local law to increase the maximum exemption allowable in 19 paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this subdivision to fifteen thousand 20 dollars, ten thousand dollars and fifty thousand dollars, respectively; 21 eighteen thousand dollars, twelve thousand dollars and sixty thousand 22 dollars, respectively; twenty-one thousand dollars, fourteen thousand 23 dollars, and seventy thousand dollars, respectively; twenty-four thou- 24 sand dollars, sixteen thousand dollars, and eighty thousand dollars, 25 respectively; twenty-seven thousand dollars, eighteen thousand dollars, 26 and ninety thousand dollars, respectively; thirty thousand dollars, 27 twenty thousand dollars, and one hundred thousand dollars, respectively; 28 thirty-three thousand dollars, twenty-two thousand dollars, and one 29 hundred ten thousand dollars, respectively; thirty-six thousand dollars, 30 twenty-four thousand dollars, and one hundred twenty thousand dollars, 31 respectively; thirty-nine thousand dollars, twenty-six thousand dollars, 32 and one hundred thirty thousand dollars, respectively; forty-two thou- 33 sand dollars, twenty-eight thousand dollars, and one hundred forty thou- 34 sand dollars, respectively; and forty-five thousand dollars, thirty 35 thousand dollars and one hundred fifty thousand dollars, respectively. 36 In addition, a county, city, town, village or school district which is a 37 "high-appreciation municipality" as defined in this subparagraph is 38 authorized to adopt a local law to increase the maximum exemption allow- 39 able in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this subdivision to thirty-nine 40 thousand dollars, twenty-six thousand dollars, and one hundred thirty 41 thousand dollars, respectively; forty-two thousand dollars, twenty-eight 42 thousand dollars, and one hundred forty thousand dollars, respectively; 43 forty-five thousand dollars, thirty thousand dollars and one hundred 44 fifty thousand dollars, respectively; forty-eight thousand dollars, 45 thirty-two thousand dollars and one hundred sixty thousand dollars, 46 respectively; fifty-one thousand dollars, thirty-four thousand dollars 47 and one hundred seventy thousand dollars, respectively; fifty-four thou- 48 sand dollars, thirty-six thousand dollars and one hundred eighty thou- 49 sand dollars, respectively; fifty-seven thousand dollars, thirty-eight 50 thousand dollars and one hundred ninety thousand dollars, respectively; 51 sixty thousand dollars, forty thousand dollars and two hundred thousand 52 dollars, respectively; sixty-three thousand dollars, forty-two thousand 53 dollars and two hundred ten thousand dollars, respectively; sixty-six 54 thousand dollars, forty-four thousand dollars and two hundred twenty 55 thousand dollars, respectively; sixty-nine thousand dollars, forty-six 56 thousand dollars and two hundred thirty thousand dollars, respectively;
A. 9217 5 1 seventy-two thousand dollars, forty-eight thousand dollars and two 2 hundred forty thousand dollars, respectively; seventy-five thousand 3 dollars, fifty thousand dollars and two hundred fifty thousand dollars, 4 respectively; provided, however, a high-appreciation municipality that 5 is a special assessing unit that is a city with a population of one 6 million or more, is authorized to adopt a local law to increase the 7 maximum exemption allowable in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this 8 subdivision to fifteen thousand six hundred dollars, ten thousand four 9 hundred dollars, and fifty-two thousand dollars, respectively; sixteen 10 thousand eight hundred dollars, eleven thousand two hundred dollars, and 11 fifty-six thousand dollars, respectively; eighteen thousand dollars, 12 twelve thousand dollars, and sixty thousand dollars, respectively; nine- 13 teen thousand two hundred dollars, twelve thousand eight hundred 14 dollars, and sixty-four thousand dollars, respectively; twenty thousand 15 four hundred dollars, thirteen thousand six hundred dollars, and sixty- 16 eight thousand dollars, respectively; twenty-one thousand six hundred 17 dollars, fourteen thousand four hundred dollars, and seventy-two thou- 18 sand dollars, respectively. For purposes of this subparagraph, a "high- 19 appreciation municipality" means: (A) a special assessing unit that is a 20 city, (B) a county for which the commissioner has established a sales 21 price differential factor for purposes of the STAR exemption authorized 22 by section four hundred twenty-five of this title in three consecutive 23 years, and (C) a city, town, village or school district which is wholly 24 or partly located within such a county. 25 § 5. An exemption granted pursuant to section 458 or 458-a of the real 26 property tax law that precedes the effective date of this act shall be 27 calculated on subsequent assessment rolls as if the original exemption 28 had been granted pursuant to the provisions of such section, as amended 29 by this act. 30 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately and apply to assessment 31 rolls based upon the taxable status date occurring on or after the fifth 32 day of January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a 33 law; provided, however, that the amendments to subdivision 2 of section 34 458 of the real property tax law made by section two of this act shall 35 take effect on the same date and in the same manner as section 2 of part 36 PP of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022, takes effect.