New York State legislators want to reduce or eliminate local counties’ contribution to Medicaid in order to reduce property taxes levied to New Yorkers, the Albany Times Union reported. On average, 45 percent of local property taxes are sent to the health insurance program. Lawmakers believe that is contributing to the relatively high property taxes New Yorkers pay, and burdening families, and in turn, the economy.

In June, Governor Andrew Cuomo enacted a cap on property tax increases, and lawmakers are concerned that for counties to comply with the cap and fund their share of Medicaid, it would eliminate funding for crucial public services, including police units and infrastructure repairs.
[more]

Governor Andrew Cuomo was making the rounds in New York City suburbs today, signing a statewide property tax cap legislation in Westchester and Nassau counties, his office announced. The new law, which has been kicked around the state government for more than 15 years, caps property tax increases at 2 percent, or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. Only a 60 percent vote in local communities override Cuomo’s legislation. “We are beginning a new era in which New York will no longer be the tax capital of the nation,” Cuomo said. – Adam Fusfeld [more]

From left: 399 Park Avenue, the Standard Hotel, and the Time Warner Center (source: PropertyShark)

The owners of valuable Manhattan properties, including 399 Park Avenue, the Standard Hotel and the Time Warner Center got huge breaks in their property-tax assessments, according to the New York Post.

In 2009 and 2010, Boston Properties, which owns 399 Park Avenue, home to Citigroup, lowered the building’s assessment by $94 million and earned a $4.7 million tax break. Meanwhile, the Standard Hotel on Washington Street cut $12.5 million off its assessment value and the Time Warner Center’s assessment declined by $40.2 million. [Post] [more]

While some state officials say they’re concerned that Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposed property tax cap could lead to a budget shortfall, the proposal has garnered support from New York City homeowners, according to the New York Times. The median property tax in New York state reached $3,755 in 2009, compared to the national median of $1,917, while five counties — Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland and Putnam — have median property taxes upwards of $7,200. Michael McCall, a marketing professor at Ithaca College, said that the tax cap may become increasingly popular among homeowners who see the current system as unfair. [more]

Once a popular initiative among homeowners and tax protest groups, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s property tax cap program is now drawing ire, according to the New York Times. The proposal, which Cuomo has not yet formally submitted, would limit the annual growth of property taxes at 2 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. But while many fiscal conservatives once supported the plan, opposition is growing, and some say that the resulting deficit from the cap would have to be covered through unexpected fees. [more]

New York property taxes could be on their way up statewide, according to the Wall Street Journal. While Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo has pledged to rein in tax increases, capping property tax hikes to 2 percent a year, local officials across New York want to boost property taxes before he enters office. This is due in large part to budget shortfalls, which have been felt nationwide as well; according to the Empire Center for New York State Policy, a conservative policy group, property taxes would need to climb 3.5 percent to account for other costs. Cuomo, meanwhile, remains stalwart in his tax stance. [more]

As interest in collecting payments in lieu of taxes — also known as PILOTs — from charitable non-profits is likely to increase, a new report is urging cities and towns to work with colleges, medical facilities and other non-profits that are exempt from paying property taxes, for greater consistency and transparency at the institutions. The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy evaluated 117 municipalities in 18 states and found that payments made in these programs are voluntary and are usually only a fraction of what the institutions would provide if they paid property taxes. Private universities, non-profit hospitals, museums, soup kitchens and churches are exempt from property taxes in all 50 states. TRD [more]

With a median property tax bill of $8,404, residents in Westchester County pay more in property taxes than do people in any other major American county, according to a new analysis of census data from the Tax Foundation, the New York Times reported. The numbers are based on an average of real estate taxes paid on owner-occupied housing from 2006 to 2008. Adjusting for the median cost of owner-occupied homes in each county, Orleans County, N.Y., had the highest property tax burden, with a median tax obligation of $2,506, or 3.04 percent of the home value, while in Westchester County, the median tax level was just 1.44 percent of the county’s median house value. Comparing property taxes by their size relative to median household income, the residents of Passaic County, N.J., are most burdened, with a median real estate tax bill of $7,095, or 8.34 percent of the median household income. New York and New Jersey together accounted for all of the top 10 highest median property tax burdens, whether calculated by median property tax dollars paid, or as median taxes as a percent of median home value, or as median taxes as a percent of median income. [NYT]

[more]

A former Catholic priest who claims that his condominium at 155 West
70th Street is a church parsonage is getting $700 a year in tax breaks
from the city, including a $200 clergy exemption. But when the New York
Post went to check out the condo registered to cleric Robert Allmen —
who left the Church of the Good Shepherd in 1980 — a tenant answered,
saying that Allmen hadn’t lived there in years. Allmen’s church is among
9,000 religious organizations who receive tax breaks from the city in
the form of partial or full exemptions, costing New York taxpayers $551
million a year, according to the Post. The exemptions cover anything related to a religious group — from parking lots used by worshippers, to grassy fields where kids from religious schools play and even upscale condos purchased by a church as staff living quarters. [Post

[more]

After years of litigation, New York City’s attempts to collect property taxes from foreign missions to the United Nations has been dealt a major setback, according to the New York Law Journal. The U.S. Court of Appeals has decided to exempt the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations and as well as the representative of the Mongolian People’s Republic from property taxes as a benefit under the Foreign Missions Act. The designation renders the missions exempt from all property taxes and clears all outstanding liens against them. The State Department issued its notice on the exemption in June 2009. The notice applies to taxes on property owned by foreign governments used to house the staff of permanent missions to the United Nations or the Organization of American States. [New York Law Journal]

[more]