Amends measure of income farmers use to qualify for the STAR program

Title of bill

An act to amend the real property tax law, in relation to school tax relief (STAR) exemption

Purpose of the bill

Amends measure of income farmers use to qualify for the STAR program.

Summary of specific provisions

Amends subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of section 425 of the real property tax law, as amended by section 3 of part E of chapter 83 of the laws of 2002, by redefining the measure of income for families earning at least 50% of their total income from farming, from adjusted gross income to modified adjusted gross income.

Justification

Under current law, STAR eligibility for farmers is based on adjusted gross income. This bill would change the measure of income from adjusted gross income to modified adjusted gross income for farm families earning at least fifty percent (50%) of their income from farming. The current measure of "adjusted income" does not exclude a farmer's principal payments on equipment. This bill would define modified adjusted gross income as income minus expenses minus principal payments. The exclusion of principal payments would allow a farmer to exclude the cost of equipment from their income, resulting in a measure that more accurately reflects the farm families' ability to pay property taxes.

These are extraordinarily difficult times for farmers; all their expenses have risen dramatically in the last few years and yet the prices of their products have remained the same or, in many cases, actually fallen. Adjusting STAR eligibility for New York's struggling farm families to this more accurate measure of their ability to pay property taxes is fair and will provide a measure of relief in these difficult times.

Prior legislative history

S.8563 of 2008

Fiscal implications

To be determined.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become law and apply to all tax years thereafter.