What's happening
Writing a plain-English summary… Track this bill to get it by email.
Why it matters
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Sponsors
History
- Referred to investigations and government operations
- Referred to investigations and government operations
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S2909
Title of bill
An act to amend the tax law, in relation to establishing an agricultural crop loss personal income tax credit
Purpose
The bill establishes a refundable personal income tax credit to farmers for the loss of certain crops as a result of frost for the 2012 taxable year.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1. Amends Section 606 of the Tax Law by adding a new subsection (uu) which establishes an agricultural crop loss refundable personal income tax credit to farmers for the loss or damage of certain agricul- tural crops as a result of frost injury in 2012. To be eligible for the credit, a taxpayer must derive at least two-thirds of reported federal gross income from farming for the taxable year. The amount of the credit is equal to thirty-five percent of the average value of the unit of production for New York State as reported by the USDA National Agricul- tural Statistics Service for 2011, multiplied by a taxpayer's acreage in production, including newly planted acreage, for the 2012 growing season.
Subsection (2) specifies that if the amount of the credit exceeds the taxpayer's tax for such year, the excess shall be treated as an overpay- ment of tax to be credited or refunded without having accrued interest.
Subsection (3) defines which damaged crops a taxpayer may receive a tax credit for and includes: fruits, including apples, peaches, grapes, cherries and berries; vegetables, including tomatoes, snap beans, cabbage, carrots, beets and onions; and potatoes and dry beans.
Section 2. Specifies that the effective date shall be immediately.
Justification
At the beginning of the 2012 growing season, New York State's farmers experienced widespread damage and loss to their crops as a result of an extremely rare severe frost event. Upon initial notifica- tion, elected officials and farm organizations immediately requested that the Governor contact the USDA Secretary of Agriculture and ask that a disaster declaration be issued for counties where farmers experienced damage to their crops. In doing so, farmers in counties that receive such a designation would be eligible for low-cost loans if their losses exceed the established threshold, as evaluated by the USDA's Farm Service Agency.
However, preliminary damage assessment estimates indicate that New York has experienced one of the worst statewide, multi-crop losses ever witnessed in the State. Cornell's Lake Erie Regional Research.Laboratory has estimated crop losses for grapes at 40%-50%; cherries at 100%, peaches at 90%, and apples at 50%. While the level of crop loss varies based on the region of the State, elevations and the crop's stage of
growth, there is no doubt that there is a high probability that many farmers will face severe economic losses.
As a result, this legislation is vitally necessary to allow the State's farm operations and their families an opportunity to be economically viable as they plan for next year's growing season.
Legislative history
S7551 of 2012 - referred to investigations and government operations
Fiscal implications
Undetermined at this time.
Effective date
Effective immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.