New York Property Tax Cap Developments

Gov. Cuomo on Monday shot down Assembly-led efforts to link his proposed property-tax cap with beefed-up rent regulations.

Cuomo said the two issues should be considered separately - and not tied together as part of a legislative deal.

"My approach is going to be to deal with these individual issues on their own merits," said Cuomo, following a private powwow at the executive mansion with legislative leaders.

Cuomo, who has made the property tax cap a top priority, said he would introduce his own bill and "go to the people" if a deal can't be reached with the Legislature within the next few weeks.

"I believe in cooperation and I believe in collegiality," Cuomo said. "I also believe in advocacy."

The Daily News first reported Sunday that Assembly Democrats, led by Speaker Sheldon Silver, were on a collision course with Cuomo for attempting to tie the tax cap with efforts to bolster New York's expiring rent regulations.

The state's rent stabilization laws expire June 15.

"The concept of rent regulation is the very same [as a property tax cap]," Silver said yesterday. "And that is to give people certainty when they are renters."

Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Nassau) said Assembly Democrats were taking a "bit of a shot" at Cuomo by connecting the issues.

Cuomo said he favors extending the rent laws but did not take a stand on whether they should be strengthened.

Cuomo, in another break with many Assembly Democrats, said he opposed extending the state's so-called millionaire's tax, which expires at the end of this year.

Silver yesterday said the state should consider whether it could "afford that tax relief to the wealthy."

Senate Republicans, meanwhile, left the door open to extending the tax.

"I'm not sure, actually, you'd have to take a look at it," Deputy Minority Leader Thomas Libous (R-Binghamton) said when asked if extending the millionaire's tax would violate the GOP's no-new-taxes stance.

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New York City Publishes 2011-12 Assessment Roll  - Values Up

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 14, 2011

 

 

Department of Finance Commissioner David M. Frankel today published the tentative property assessment roll for fiscal year 2012. Market values for the upcoming year increased 3.75 percent to $823.5 billion for New York City’s more than 1 million properties. Market values for Class 1-3 family homes (Class 1) increased 0.86 percent; this is the first market value increase for Class 1 since the FY 2008 assessment roll.

"I am deeply indebted to the extraordinary work of our assessors and other staff who value more than 1 million properties annually," said Finance Commissioner Frankel. "Their work allows us to produce fair assessed values that form one of two key bases of our property tax -- the other being the actual tax rate, set in June."

Overall market values for Class 1 homes, which are based on comparable sales prices, rose 0.86 percent citywide, compared to a 2.82 percent decline last year. Assessed values increased 2.65 percent.

Finance this year updated its valuation models to more accurately reflect sales prices. As a result, high-end Class 1 properties, particularly in Manhattan, saw a large growth in market value. Market values grew by 11.0 percent in Manhattan and 1.3 percent in Queens, while values in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island saw slight decreases.

Overall market values for cooperatives, condominiums and apartment buildings (Class 2) rose 4.0 percent. Market values for larger Class 2 parcels grew by roughly 13 percent. By law, Finance is not allowed to use sales prices to value co-ops and condos. Overall assessed values for Class 2 increased 8.0 percent.

Overall market values for commercial properties (Class 4) saw an increase of 9.95 percent. Assessed values increased 7.25 percent.

Values in Class 2 and 4 are based on income and expense data provided by property owners for 2009. Because of the law governing when this information is filed, 2009 is the last year for which the department has complete data. Aggressive enforcement efforts have increased compliance for Income and Expense filings from 67 percent in 2008 to 90 percent in 2009, making Finance’s estimates of Net Operating Income more accurate.

The increase in market values in Class 2 and 4 is driven by rising Net Operating Incomes reported by landlords, as well as low mortgage and bond interest rates, which are used to determine income capitalization rates.

"Property taxes are based on a set of complex state laws that require careful attention to detail and process," said Finance Commissioner Frankel. "As is usually the case, this year's results vary by property class, location and many other factors. I urge all New Yorkers affected to understand how their property is valued and to come to us with any questions."

Department of Finance assessors assign market values to all properties in the City annually. All properties are valued by law according to the property’s condition on the taxable status date of January 5th.

Owners who believe that Finance has used incorrect information to determine their market value may file forms providing corrections. These forms are posted at www.nyc.gov/finance.

If Finance verifies that the corrections on these forms are significant, the agency will make the correction before the final assessment roll is published on May 25th.

The final roll will also include changes, if any, based on the decisions made by the New York City Tax Commission, an independent City agency, as well as new information Finance gathers about abatements, exemptions and other adjustments. In June, Finance will use the final roll and new tax rates to generate property tax bills for fiscal year 2012 beginning on July 1st.

Owners of Class 1 properties who wish to file an application for correction with the Tax Commission must do so by March 15th. Owners of all other properties must apply by March 1st.

The tentative roll, along with the summary material (attached) is available on the web at www.nyc.gov/finance. Members of the public who do not have access to the Internet at their home can view the roll on the public computer terminals at our Finance Business Centers located in each borough.

Assessors will again conduct their annual joint outreach sessions in each borough in the month of February with the Tax Commission to answer questions from the public about how we valued their properties. The outreach sessions schedule is:

Manhattan - Thursday, February 3rd at 10:00 AM

1 Centre Street, Room 936 (Chambers Street)

Queens - Wednesday, February 9th at 10:00 AM

144-06 94th Avenue, 2nd Floor (Sutphin Boulevard)

Brooklyn - Thursday, February 10th at 10:00 AM

210 Joralemon Street, Room 201 (Court Street)

Bronx - Wednesday, February 16th at 10:00 AM

3030 Third Avenue, 2nd Floor

Staten Island - Thursday, February 17th at 10:00 AM

350 St. Marks Place, 4th Floor, Room 400 (Hyatt Street)

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Contact: Owen Stone – Department of Finance (212) 669-2566

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE PUBLISHES FY12 TENTATIVE ASSESSMENT ROLL

 

Annual Roll Sets Taxable Property Values for All New York City Properties

Citywide Property Values Increase by 3.75 percent, Total Market Value at $823.5 Billion

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Big Buildings Are Winning Big Tax Breaks Simply by appealing city property-tax assessments

Excerpts from The New York Post:

...Hearst's 2010 tax bill plummeted to $7.7 million after the coproation requested a reassessment for the Hearst Tower, at 300 W. 57th St., according to city records. New York's first green tower, the 46-story skyscraper has 2,000 employees at Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Marie Claire and other Hearst magazines. The company argued that the building's value had fallen 39 percent due to the recession and errors in prior assessments.

 

The city Tax Commission shaved off $76.2 million, effectively cutting Hearst's property taxes by 28 percent.

Over at Columbus Circle, the Time Warner Center's office and retail areas were reassessed to the tune of a $7.4 million tax cut. That saved Related Cos., led by real-estate mogul Steve Ross, $74.2 million -- or 22.5 percent of the assessed value. The tax break was the second in two years for the building.

Citigroup's 41-story headquarters, at 399 Park Ave., got the third-biggest break, a $61.3 million reduction in assessed value that amounts to a $6.2 million tax cut and a saving of 18.5 percent. The building's owner, Boston Properties, leases space to Citigroup.

Some of the sharpest cuts went to buildings that also got multimillion-dollar ones in 2009. That's because the owners of high-end office and retail spaces regularly seek such reductions. And why not? As a city insider put it, "There is no penalty for trying."

In fact, city officials admit there are problems with a system in which there's always at least one year's lag in a building's estimated value.

"Because of timing issues, Finance and the Tax Commission are often forced to use different data, which inevitably produces different results," said Finance Commissioner David Frankel. "We are exploring methods to make the system more rational."

As of Dec. 30, a record 46,929 property-tax appeals had been filed with the Tax Commission, topping the previous high of 46,800 in 2009.

Many homeowners also have a hard time believing that their property taxes actually increased during a recession. In 2010, 1,710 sought a reduction. A year earlier, 1,901 filed for one.

The city is still on pace to collect $16.2 billion in property taxes this fiscal year -- but as Finance spokesman Owen Stone noted, that's down from $16.8 billion in fiscal-year 2009.

 

 

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Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/sky_high_savings_tsahEnsFnOkjAiLeRkroXP#ixzz1AD7yKYp8