Democratic candidate critical of Cuomo move
A Democrat running for state Senate criticized Gov. Andrew Cuomo for cutting school tax benefits for late taxpayers.
A Democratic candidate for state Senate is criticizing Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his decision to cut out school tax benefits for people who are late on their taxes.
Jim Barber, who is running for the 51st Senate seat, says Cuomo’s decision earlier this year in connection with the STAR program is particularly harm- ful during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cuomo is a fellow Democrat.
The 51st Senate is being vacated by Republican James Seward. Also running for the seat is Republican Peter Oberacker, a businessman and Otsego County legislator.
“The decision to withhold STAR (School Tax Relief) credits and exemptions if people are late paying their taxes is a gut punch for the many folks who are struggling to make ends meet due to the COVID crisis,” Barber said in a statement. “The Governor’s decision shows an absolute lack of understanding of the tremendous burden New York State property taxes impose on upstate property owners under normal circumstances, and a willful ignoring of the realities of the COVID crisis for those of us who live here. We must fix this broken tax system in New York State that makes it so difficult for people to live, work and retire here, and we must do it now.”
In January, Cuomo announced a proposal in in his executive budget to deny School Tax Relief Program benefits to delinquent property owners.
“These benefits are meant to help responsible taxpayers pay their school tax bill, and if someone is not paying their fair share, they should not be entitled to STAR — period,” Cuomo said in a January statement. “By closing this loophole, New York will crack down on bad actors and help ensure these benefits go toward the hardworking taxpayers who deserve them.”
Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, D-Kingston, shared the provisions of the new regulation.
Beginning in 2020, property owners with property tax delinquencies greater than one year are not eligible for the Basic STAR exemption or the Basic STAR credit.
Property taxes are considered delinquent for purposes of this program under either of the following circumstances:
• The taxes remain unpaid one year after the last date on which they could have been paid without interest. For example, for 2020 STAR benefits, the town and county taxes due on January 31, 2019, have not been paid by January 31, 2020.
• Where property taxes are payable in installments, the taxes remain unpaid one year after the last date on which the final installment could have been paid without interest. For example, for 2020 STAR benefits, the final school tax installment due March 31, 2019, has not been paid by March 31, 2020.
Recipients of the Enhanced STAR exemptions and credits are not affected by the new law and may continue to receive their STAR benefits even if their property taxes are delinquent.
The STAR program provides $3.4 billion in relief from school property taxes. It includes the Basic STAR credit benefit for homeowners with incomes of $500,000 or less, the Basic STAR exemption benefit for homeowners with incomes of $250,000 or less, and the Enhanced STAR benefit for seniors with incomes of $88,050 or less.
“STAR has become an expensive program but one, as Jim Barber points out, that literally keeps people in their homes,” Cahill said. “Our area has the greatest disparity between income and real property taxes in the nation. That is, here in the Mid-Hudson/Catskills region, incomes are lower and property taxes are higher, resulting in an affordability gap for homeowners that is unlike anywhere else in the state or nation.”
Cahill, who represents the 103rd Assembly District, said that homeowners delinquent on school tax bills are not delaying on purpose.
“When a homeowner becomes delinquent on their school taxes, it is more often because of economic hardship and not, as was suggested by the Governor, evidence of an unwillingness to share in the obligation to fund our schools,” Cahill said. “We
live in a beautiful area but jobs are few and far between in some parts of our state. Homes and farms which may have been handed down from generation to generation can be expensive to maintain but still more affordable than other alternatives until it comes to property taxes.”
Cahill has pushed for a different way to fund schools.
“Reasonable alternatives have been proposed such as replacing STAR with a true circuit breaker program that would also assist renters,’ Cahill said. “There is also my Equity in Education proposal which would shift the entire burden of funding our schools to statewide revenue sources and significantly reduce reliance on real property taxes to fund education.”
“While the idea sounds radical and perhaps more aspirational than achievable, I hasten to point out that in the 1970’s, local real property taxes accounted for less than 20 percent of funding for our schools,” Cahill added. “Today that number approaches 60 percent on average.”