Relates to a certain agreement for a payment in lieu of taxes with respect to a lessee that is a qualified empire zone enterprise of certain real property

1 Co-sponsor

• Thomas Croci

BILL NUMBER:S4401

Title of bill

An act in relation to a certain agreement for a payment in lieu of taxes

Purpose or general idea of bill

This bill relates to a certain agreement for a payment in lieu of taxes with respect to a lessee that is a qualified empire zone enterprise of certain real property.

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1. Makes provisions for payment in lieu of taxes made by entity for a specific property

Section 2. Allows the property owner to make a claim for a credit or refund after three years

Section 3. Effective Date.

Justification

Qualified Empire Zone Enterprises (QEZE) are vital businesses which encourage job growth and foster economic development. During the relevant years, the property owner had taken a mortgage on his property located at 85 Saxon Ave Bay Shore, NY 11706. The bank paid the property taxes out of an escrow account on behalf of the property owner, using the property owner's payments. Due to an oversight, the Department of Taxation and Finance will not honor the QEZE tax deduction credit because they claim the property owner did not pay the taxes on the property, when in fact, the taxes were paid, by the owner, through the bank. As a result, the property owner who had been approved for a tax credit and had been audited by the state during the relevant time period, was later denied the credit.

The business has complied with the law and has relied on this tax credit for operating expenses. This bill would allow the property owner to receive his tax credit for the years 2009, 2010 and 2011. In 2014, two similar pieces of legislation were signed into law.

Prior legislative history

New Bill

Effective date

Immediately and shall apply to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2009 and before January 1, 2012.