NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A846
SPONSOR: Weprin TITLE OF BILL:
An act to repeal section 429 of the real property tax law relating to
real property used for professional major league sports
PURPOSE:
To require payment of taxes by the owners of Madison Square Garden.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
The bill repeals section 429 of the real property tax law, "real proper-
ty used for professional major league sports," to require that the,
owners of Madison Square Garden pay real property taxes. The Garden
currently enjoys a curiously worded exemption from taxes, based on the
fact that it meets the following criteria, which are applicable to no
other property in New York:
1. It is located in a city with a population of one million or more, and
used by both a professional major league hockey team which is a member
of the National Hockey League and a professional major league basketball
team which is a member of the National Basketball Association to play
their home games.
2. It is exempt from taxation to the extent that the taxes are the obli-
gation by lease or otherwise of the owners of franchises for such teams,
provided that such owners enter into a written agreement with the chief
executive officer of the municipality in which such property is located
to play their home games within such municipality for a period of at
least ten consecutive years.
3. The tax exemption is granted on the date the agreement is executed
and applies to taxes which become due and payable after the agreement is
executed. The Exemption continues as long as both of the professional
teams play their home games there and no longer.
4. The exemption also applies to improvements used for the provision of
facilities or services related to sports, entertainment, expositions,
conventions or trade shows.
5. If one or both of said teams ceases to play their home games at the
property at any time, the tax exemption ceases immediately. The amend-
ment adds new language to the section, to make it clear that the proper-
ty is still subject to taxation, and that the full amount of such taxes
are and shall be the obligations of the owners of such property, and may
not be made obligations by lease or otherwise of the owners of the teams
referred to hereinabove. The amendment also makes it clear that any
provision in a lease, agreement, or any other written instrument requir-
ing that any such taxes or their equivalent in the form of any charges
of any kind whatsoever, imposed by whatever name, be made obligations of
the owners of such teams shall he void on and after the effective date
of this act as against state policy.
JUSTIFICATION:
No exemption is granted in perpetuity. The purpose, of this bill is to
eliminate the exemption, but to insure that fans are not penalized by
the owners of the facility, in the form of passing onto them any charges
or other costs as a proxy for the taxes the owners must pay.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
02/09/17 referred to real property taxation
01/03/18 referred to real property taxation
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect 90 days after it has become law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
846
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 11, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BENEDET-
TO, COLTON, MILLER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Real
Property Taxation
AN ACT to repeal section 429 of the real property tax law relating to
real property used for professional major league sports
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby declares that
2 any provision in a lease, agreement or any other written instrument
3 requiring that any taxes or their equivalent, set forth in such instru-
4 ment in the form of any charges of any kind whatsoever, imposed by any
5 taxing authority, shall be made the obligation of any person, sole
6 proprietorship, partnership, firm, corporation, limited liability compa-
7 ny, association, franchise, team, or any other entity, other than the
8 owner or owners of such property, shall be deemed void as against public
9 policy.
10 § 2. Section 429 of the real property tax law is REPEALED.
11 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
12 have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01532-01-3
