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- Referred to local government
- Referred to local government
Companion bill
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Reinstates the Middle Class STAR rebate for the 2013-2014 school year and thereafter
In Assembly Committee · Real Property Taxation · Sponsor Fred Thiele
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S1558
Title of bill
An act to amend the real property tax law and the tax law, in relation to reinstating the "Middle Class STAR" rebate program
Purpose
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: This bill would reinstate the "Middle Class STAR" rebate program.
Section 1 adds a new Real Property Tax Law Section 1306-b, entitled "Middle Class STAR" rebate program. This section provides that if a parcel is entitled to the enhanced STAR exemption pursuant to RPTL section 425 for the 2013-2014 school year and thereafter, a local real property tax rebate shall be provided to the owner or owners of such parcel. In addition, this section provides that if a parcel is Entitled to the basic STAR exemption pursuant to RPTL section 425 for the 2014-2015; school year and thereafter, a local real property tax rebate shall be provided to the owner or owners of such parcel. The section sets forth the process by which such rebate shall be determined.
The "Middle Class STAR" rebate program provides rebate checks to eligible star recipients utilizing three income brackets. Senior rebates checks based on the senior STAR exemption eligibility are already income based and do not utilize any income brackets.
For the downstate counties including Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland, Westchester, Putnam, Orange, Duchess, and New York. City, the income bracket shall be as follows:
Income Bracket One Income Bracket Two Income Bracket Three $0 - $120,000 $120,001 - $175,000 $175,001 - $250,000
For the rest of State the following income brackets would be utilized:
Income Bracket One Income Bracket Two Income Bracket Three $0 - $90,000 $90,001 - $150,000 $150,001 - $250,000
Section 2 adds a new Tax law section 178 entitled "Middle Class STAR" rebate program. The section sets forth the mechanism by which the Department of taxation shall issue STAR Rebate checks to those entitled to receive such checks.
Section 3 adds a new subsection n-1 to section 606 of the Tax Law to allow for a property tax credit in any year when there is no appropriation for the payment of "Middle Class STAR" rebate checks, eligible recipients shall be provided an advanced credit in an equal amount to their respective middle class star rebate check.
Section 4 provides that this act shall take effect immediately.
Justification
Real property taxes are a serious burden for many homeowners, from young families to senior citizens. School taxes represent a substantial portion of the property taxes that homeowners pay. The Legislature has provided increasing state aid to school districts year after year, but school property taxes seem to rise anyway. Five years ago, the Legislature gave additional assistance to hard-pressed homeowners through the STAR Rebate program. The STAR Rebate program was discontinued in the SFY 2009-10 Budget, but this is an important program that gives help to homeowners who are struggling to pay local property taxes. With homeowners also facing difficulties keeping their homes because of the current troubled economy, it is more important than ever to maintain the STAR Rebate Program.
Legislative history
2012 S.7447
Fiscal implications
Enactment of this legislation would cost the State $202 million dollars in the 2012-13 State fiscal year.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.