§ 485-F — Banking development districts

§ 485-f. Banking development districts. 1. Real property altered,\nconstructed, installed, or improved for use as a branch of a bank, trust\ncompany or national bank in an area designated as a banking development\ndistrict by the superintendent of financial services pursuant to section\nninety-six-d of the banking law shall be exempt from taxation and\nspecial ad valorem levies by any municipal corporation in which located,\nfor a period of ten years, provided that the governing board of such\nmunicipal corporation, after a public hearing, adopts a local law,\nordinance, or resolution providing therefor.\n 2. Where such local law, ordinance, or resolution has been adopted,\nsuch real property which is used to establish a branch of a bank, trust\ncompany or national bank in a banking development district shall be\nexempt for a period of one year of fifty per centum of the "exemption\nbase", determined pursuant to subdivision three of this section, and\nsuch exemption shall be decreased by five per centum each year during\nsuch additional period. A copy of such local law, ordinance, or\nresolution shall be filed with the commissioner and the assessor of such\ncounty, city, town, or village who prepares the assessment roll on which\nthe taxes of such county, city, town, village, or school district are\nlevied.\n 3. (a) The "exemption base" shall be the extent of the increase in\nassessed value attributable to such alteration, construction,\ninstallation, or improvement as determined in the initial year for which\napplication for exemption is made pursuant to this section, except as\nprovided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph.\n (i) If there is subsequent alteration, construction, installation, or\nimprovement during the term of the exemption, the exemption base shall\nbe revised to include the increase in assessed value attributable to\nsuch alteration, construction, installation, or improvement.\n (ii) If in any year a change in level of assessment of fifteen percent\nor more is certified for an assessment roll pursuant to the rules of the\ncommissioner, the exemption base shall be adjusted by such change in\nlevel or assessment. The exemption on that assessment roll shall\nthereupon be recomputed, notwithstanding the fact that the assessor\nreceives the certification after the completion, verification, and\nfiling of the final assessment roll. In the event that the assessor does\nnot have custody of the roll when such certification is received, the\nassessor shall certify the recomputed exemption to the local officers\nhaving custody and control of the roll and such local officers are\nhereby directed and authorized to enter the recomputed exemption\ncertified by the assessor on the roll. The assessor shall give written\nnotice of such recomputed exemption to the property owner, who may, if\nhe or she believes that the exemption was recomputed incorrectly, apply\nfor a correction in the manner provided by title three of article five\nof this chapter for the correction of clerical errors.\n (iii) The following table shall illustrate the computation of the tax\nexemption:\n Year of exemption Percentage of exemption\n 1 50\n 2 45\n 3 40\n 4 35\n 5 30\n 6 25\n 7 20\n 8 15\n 9 10\n 10 5\n (b) No exemption shall be granted pursuant to this section, unless:\n (i) the alteration, construction, installation, or improvement\ncommenced on or after either the date the banking development district\nwas designated by the superintendent of financial services pursuant to\nsection ninety-six-d of the banking law or, if specified in local law,\nordinance, or resolution adopted pursuant to subdivision one of this\nsection, the effective date of such local law, resolution or ordinance;\nand\n (ii) the property is located in a banking development district\ndesignated by the superintendent of financial services pursuant to\nsection ninety-six-d of the banking law.\n (c) For purposes of this section the terms alteration, construction,\ninstallation or improvement shall not include ordinary maintenance and\nrepairs.\n 4. Such exemption shall be granted only upon written application of\nthe owner of such real property on a form prescribed by the state board.\nThe application shall be filed with the assessor of the county, city,\ntown, or village having the power to assess property for taxation on or\nbefore the appropriate taxable status date of such county, city, town,\nor village. Such application shall be filed on or before the appropriate\ntaxable status date of such assessing unit and no later than one year\nfrom the date of completion of such alteration, construction,\ninstallation, or improvement.\n 5. If the assessor receives an application by the owner of the real\nproperty and is satisfied that the applicant is entitled to an exemption\npursuant to this section, the assessor shall approve the application and\nsuch real property shall thereafter be exempt from taxation and special\nad valorem levies as herein provided, commencing with the assessment\nroll prepared after the taxable status date referred to in subdivision\nfour of this section. The assessed value of any exemption granted\npursuant to this section shall be entered by the assessor on the\nassessment roll with the taxable property, with the amount of the\nexemption entered in a separate column.\n