What's happening
This bill allows close relatives using property for agriculture and paying school taxes to receive the STAR tax exemption instead of the property owner.
Why it matters
Expands STAR exemption eligibility. The bill allows close family members (within two degrees of consanguinity) who work the land for agricultural purposes and pay school taxes to receive the STAR tax exemption, even if they are not the property’s legal owner. This can help keep family-operated farms viable across generations.
Supports active agricultural use. By tying the exemption to agricultural activity and school tax payments, the measure encourages continued farmland use and investment by family members, rather than absentee or non-farming owners.
Clarifies “agricultural purposes”. The bill provides a broad definition, including crop production, animal management, horticulture, ranching, dairying, and food manufacturing, potentially benefiting a wide range of family-run agricultural operations.
Could shift tax planning for families. The change may influence how families arrange property ownership and farm operation, making it easier for younger or non-owner relatives to maintain farms and afford local school taxes, potentially slowing the loss of family farms.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Extend STAR to Farming Relatives
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
3 Co-sponsors
3 Multi-sponsors
History
- Referred to real property taxation
- Referred to real property taxation
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
896
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 9, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. CROUCH -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. FINCH -read once and referred to the Committee on Real Property Taxation
AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to eligibility for the school real property (STAR) tax exemption
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 425 of the real property tax law is amended by adding a new paragraph (g) to read as follows:
(g) Relative taxpayers. If a member of the owner's family within two degrees of consanguinity or a member of a co-owner's family within two degrees of consanguinity is using the property for agricultural purposes and is also paying the school taxes for the property then that member of the owner's or co-owner's family shall be entitled to the exemption provided by this section and not the owner of the property. For the purposes of this paragraph, "agricultural purposes" shall mean the producing of food upon a farm or elsewhere on the property by the tillage of the soil, the commercial raising, shearing, feeding and management of animals or other agricultural, horticultural, ranching or dairying processes and shall also include the manufacture of foods.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to the administration of the STAR exemption beginning with the 2017-2018 school year.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04696-01-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.