Web Desk:
Bill de Blasio, who vowed to fix New York City’s dysfunctional property tax reform system eight years ago when campaigning to be the city’s chief executive, released recommendations in his final days in office that include creating a new tax class for small residential and condo owners.
The outgoing mayor, who ends his second term on Dec. 31, released a final set of recommendations on Wednesday drafted by the New York City Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform.
The final report entitled “The Road to Reform: A Blueprint for Modernizing and Simplifying New York City’s Property Tax System,” recommends sweeping changes to the current system, with a particular emphasis on smaller residential properties which the public and subject matter experts most often cited as having the greatest inequalities.
The final report expands on the initial recommendations released on January 31, 2020, and details targeted owner relief programs that will help low and moderate-income homeowners better afford their tax bills.
The commission’s primary recommendation is a new tax class for small residential properties, one to three-family homes, condominiums, cooperatives, and 4 to 10 unit rental buildings. This recommendation ends fractional assessments which differ by property class and confuse property owners and valuing property in this new residential-class based on sales-based market value, thereby ending the statutory requirement to value coops and condos based on comparable rental buildings.
Other recommendations from the de Blasio commission include:
Primary residents with incomes below $375,000 would receive a 20% property tax exemption based on sales-based market value. Those with incomes between $375,000 and $500,000 would receive exemptions between 4% and 16%.
Primary residents with incomes below $375,000 would receive an exemption of up to 30% based on their home’s sales-based market value. The exemption would decrease for higher-valued homes and, for those with incomes between $375,000 and $500,000, the exemption would be further reduced.
The commission also recommended a tax break for those with incomes below $90,550 who pay more than 10% of their income on property taxes would receive a tax abatement for the amount in excess of 10% of their income, up to a limit of $10,000; for those with incomes between $58,000 and $90,550, the benefit would be gradually reduced as income rises.
