Requires the establishment of a commercial assessment ratio for a county with a population of more than nine hundred forty-nine thousand, but less than nine hundred fifty thousand.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A466
SPONSOR: Abinanti TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the real property tax law, in relation
to creating a county commercial assessment ratio
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To establish a commercial assessment ratio for use in article 7
proceedings reviewing assessments of major type B commercial properties
in certain counties. This bill is designed to stop the unfair shift of
the real property tax burden from commercial properties to homeowners
which results from the current law which allows commercial properties to
use an inaccurate measure of their value in court assessment challenges.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
This bill adds a new section 1215 to the RPTL and amends section 720 of
the RPTL to establish a commercial assessment ratio and to allow its use
in article 7 proceedings reviewing the assessments of major type B
commercial property in counties with a population of more than nine
hundred twenty-three thousand but less than nine hundred twenty-four
thousand.
JUSTIFICATION:
One major cause of exceedingly high residential real property taxes in
Westchester County is the success that commercial property owners have
had in challenging and lowering commercial real property taxes by using
the tax certiorari process which results in unfairly shifting the tax
burden to homeowners. In spite of an increase in commercial
construction, as a class, commercial property owners pay significantly
less taxes than just a few years ago while residential property owners,
as a class, pay significantly more.
This bill is designed to correct a major flaw in the present law which
allows commercial properties to use the state equalization rate in their
tax certiorari proceedings challenging their real property tax assess-
ments. The state equalization rate is an inaccurate measure which under-
values commercial properties when used in court proceedings challenging
commercial assessments. This legislation establishes a new assessment
ratio for commercial properties and requires its use in tax certiorari
proceedings.
Many Westchester assessing units have experienced unprecedented fluctu-
ation and, until recently, significant appreciation, in residential
property values over the years. On the other hand, commercial property
values have remained constant or have appreciated slightly. This appre-
ciation in residential property values has caused the state equalization
rates for these assessing units to drop drastically. These reduced state
equalization rates do not accurately reflect the changes in the values
of commercial property. The use of the general state equalization rates
shows an artificial over-assessment of commercial property. The commer-
cial assessment ratio would be the market value ratio for major type B
property, which is currently a component of the full value measurement
used in establishing the state equalization rate for an assessing unit.
This bill is intended to slow the rate of growth of the residential
share of the property tax burden while reducing the decline in the
commercial share of that burden, without actually increasing anyone's
taxes over existing levels.
This bill will not affect existing taxes but will apply only if an owner
of commercial property challenges the property's assessment in court.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY;
2005-2006: A5793A;
2007-2008: A6099A/S3298A/
2009-2010: A4588A;
2011-2012: A5190;
2013-2014: A511A;
2015-2016 A208A
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS;
De minimis
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply beginning with
the 2018 assessment roll.
