Assemblywoman Ann-Margaret Carrozza fought for legislation that

• Allow seniors who are eligible for the senior property tax exemption, but miss the filing date due to illness or other emergency medical situations, to file late with the assessor (A.5337)

• Increase the maximum income eligibility for the senior real property tax exemption to account for annual increases in Social Security due to inflation-ensuring that seniors aren’t unnecessarily disqualified from the tax exemption (A.5604)

• Allow a sliding scale for the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) program, so even if a senior is above the maximum income for the program, he or she may still be eligible for a partial exemption (A.6958)

Assemblywoman Ann-Margaret Carrozza fought for a final bipartisan budget that provides real tax cuts for New York families, including:

• Eliminating the state sales tax on clothing under $110, saving shoppers in New York City $230 million per year

• Increasing the New York City STAR personal income tax credit from $62.50 to $115 for single filers and from $125 to $230 for joint filers, saving New York City residents an additional $252 million-for a total savings of $462 million. In addition, New York City residents will receive a rebate on their property taxes.

• Establishing a Child Tax Credit of up to $330 for every child ages 4 to 17

• Eliminating the marriage penalty, saving married couples throughout the state about $41 million annually when fully phased in

Carrozza worked to pass a law to save New Yorkers money at the pump by capping the state sales tax at the $2 per gallon rate, or 8 cents per gallon (Ch. 35 of 2006).

This law also helps ease the cost of our high energy bills by:

• Providing consumers with a tax credit to purchase home heating fuel oil containing biodiesel fuel

• Making the credit equal to the percentage of biodiesel. For example, a 10 cents per gallon credit for 10 percent biodiesel

• Establishing a tax credit for purchasing an energy-efficient residential home heating system, equal to 50 percent of purchase and installation, up to $500

This law also allows New York City to reduce or eliminate its sales tax on residential energy and cap its local gasoline sales tax.

• Rejecting the governor’s attempt to force low-income seniors out of the Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC) program and into the disastrous Medicare Part D plan

• Restoring nearly $5.7 million in hospital funding within the 26th Assembly District

• Restoring over $8.4 million in aid to our nursing homes, which the governor tried to cut, including:

  • Bridge View Nursing Home: restoring $647,000

  • Ozanam Hall of Queens Nursing Home, Inc.: restoring over $2 million

  • Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehabilitation: restoring over $4.5 million

  • Queens Center for Rehabilitation and Residential Health Care: restoring $771,000

  • Changing the unfair Medicaid reimbursement rates to nursing homes, which were based on 1983 levels. Through the Legislature’s plan to reimburse nursing homes at a current level, nursing homes in our community will receive $879,000 more this year.