§ 171-W — State support for the local enforcement of past-due property taxes

§ 171-w. State support for the local enforcement of past-due property\ntaxes. 1. Legislative findings. The legislature finds that local\ngovernments have limited means to enforce the collection of past-due\nproperty taxes. The legislature further finds that it is appropriate for\nthe state to support the local enforcement of past-due property taxes by\nauthorizing the commissioner to administer a program to disallow STAR\ncredits and exemptions to delinquent property owners based on\ninformation reported to him or her by municipal officials.\n 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this section:\n (a) "Delinquent property owner" means a STAR recipient whose primary\nresidence is subject to past-due property taxes.\n (b) "Past-due property taxes" means property taxes that have been\nlevied upon a property owner's primary residence that remain unpaid one\nyear after the last date on which they could have been paid without\ninterest, or where such taxes are payable in installments, those taxes\nthat remain unpaid one year after the last date on which the final\ninstallment could have been paid without interest.\n (c) "STAR credit" means the basic STAR personal income tax credit\nauthorized by subsection (eee) of section six hundred six of this\nchapter.\n (d) "STAR exemption" means the basic STAR exemption from real property\ntaxation authorized by section four hundred twenty-five of the real\nproperty tax law.\n (e) "STAR recipient" means a property owner who is registered to\nreceive the STAR credit in relation to his or her primary residence, or\nwhose primary residence is receiving the STAR exemption.\n 3. STAR tax payment requirement; generally. Notwithstanding any\nprovision of law to the contrary, a property owner whose primary\nresidence is subject to past-due property taxes shall not be allowed to\nreceive a STAR credit or STAR exemption unless the past-due property\ntaxes are paid in full on or before a date specified by the\ncommissioner.\n 4. Commissioner's authority. The commissioner is hereby authorized to\ndevelop a program to support the local enforcement of past-due property\ntaxes by disallowing STAR credits and STAR exemptions to delinquent\nproperty owners. The commissioner shall establish procedures for the\nadministration of this program, which shall include the following\nprovisions:\n (a) The procedures by which municipal officials shall report past-due\nproperty taxes and property tax payments to the department.\n (b) The procedures by which the department shall notify delinquent\nproperty owners of the impending disallowance of their STAR credits or\nexemptions due to past-due property taxes.\n (c) The date by which delinquent property owners must pay their\npast-due property taxes in full in order to avoid disallowance of their\nSTAR credits or exemptions.\n (d) The procedures by which the commissioner shall disallow STAR\ncredits and notify assessors of the disallowance of STAR exemptions if\npast-due property taxes are not paid in full by the specified date.\n (e) Such other procedures as the commissioner shall deem necessary to\ncarry out the provisions of this section.\n 5. Municipal reports. The commissioner's procedures regarding\nmunicipal reporting shall be subject to the following provisions:\n (a) The commissioner may request and shall be entitled to receive from\nany municipal corporation of the state, or any agency or official\nthereof, such data as the commissioner deems necessary to effectuate the\npurposes of this section. Such information shall be submitted to the\ndepartment at such time and in such manner as the commissioner may\ndirect.\n (b) In lieu of requiring municipal officials to submit their reports\ndirectly to the department, the commissioner may, in his or her\ndiscretion, require that such reports be submitted to the county\ndirector of real property tax services, who shall integrate the reports\ninto a single file and submit it to the department at such time and in\nsuch manner as the commissioner may direct. Provided, that where the\ncommissioner institutes such a procedure, he or she may exclude cities\nwith one hundred twenty-five thousand inhabitants or more, so that\ninformation about past-due property taxes and property tax payments in\nsuch a city shall be reported directly to the department by a designated\ncity official at such time and in such manner as the commissioner may\ndirect.\n (c) Reports and other records prepared pursuant to this section shall\nnot be subject to the provisions of article six of the public officers\nlaw.\n 6. Notification of delinquent property owners. The commissioner's\nprocedures regarding the notification of delinquent property owners\nshall be subject to the following provisions:\n (a) The department shall notify a delinquent property owner by regular\nmail at least thirty days prior to the date by which his or her past-due\nproperty taxes must be paid in full in order to avoid disallowance of\nhis or her STAR credit or exemption.\n (b) Such notice shall include a statement that the property owner's\nSTAR credit or exemption will be disallowed unless his or her past-due\nproperty taxes are paid in full by the date specified in the notice.\n (c) To the extent practicable, such notice shall provide contact\ninformation for the local official or officials to whom the past-due\nproperty taxes may be paid.\n (d) Such notice shall further state that the property owner's right to\nprotest the disallowance of the STAR credit or exemption is limited to\nraising issues that constitute a "mistake of fact" as defined in\nsubdivision nine of this section.\n (e) Such notice may include such other information as the commissioner\nmay deem necessary.\n 7. Timely payment of past-due property taxes. If a delinquent property\nowner pays his or her past-due property taxes in full on or before the\ndate specified in such notice, the official receiving such payment shall\nso notify the department at such time and in such manner as prescribed\nby the commissioner. The property owner shall then be permitted to\nreceive the STAR credit or exemption that would have been disallowed if\ntimely payment had not been made. However, if the department does not\nlearn of the payment until after it has already directed an assessor to\ndeny a STAR exemption to a delinquent property owner, then in lieu of\ndirecting the exemption to be restored, the department may remit to the\nproperty owner payment in an amount that will reimburse the property\nowner for the increase in his or her school tax bill that is directly\nattributable to the lost STAR exemption.\n 8. Failure to make timely payment. (a) If the past-due taxes are not\npaid on or before the date specified in the notice that had been sent to\nthe delinquent property owner, his or her STAR credit or STAR exemption\nshall be disallowed in accordance with the procedures established by the\ncommissioner.\n (b) The property owner shall not be eligible to participate in the\nSTAR program again as long as the property is subject to past-due\nproperty taxes.\n (c) Upon payment of the past-due property taxes in full, the official\nreceiving such payment shall notify the department at such time and in\nsuch manner as may be prescribed by the commissioner. The commissioner\nshall then proceed as follows:\n (i) If the property owner had previously been receiving the STAR\ncredit, the commissioner shall allow the property owner to resume his or\nher participation in the STAR credit program on a prospective basis, if\notherwise eligible, effective with the first taxable year commencing\nafter such payment.\n (ii) If the property owner had previously been receiving the STAR\nexemption, the commissioner shall allow the property owner to\nparticipate in the STAR credit program on a prospective basis, if\notherwise eligible, effective with the first taxable year commencing\nafter such payment. The property owner shall not be allowed back into\nthe STAR exemption program.\n (iii) The commissioner shall, when making the first advanced payment\nof a STAR credit to the property taxpayer after payment of the past-due\nproperty taxes in full, also pay to such property taxpayer the value of\nthe STAR exemptions or STAR credits that were disallowed pursuant to\nparagraph a of this subdivision.\n 9. Mistake of fact. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a\ndisallowance of a STAR credit or STAR exemption pursuant to this section\nmay only be challenged before the department on the grounds of a mistake\nof fact as defined in this subdivision. The taxpayer will have no right\nto commence a court action, administrative proceeding or any other form\nof legal recourse against an assessor, county director of real property\ntax services or other local official regarding such disallowance. For\nthe purposes of this subdivision, "mistake of fact" is limited to claims\nthat: (i) the individual notified is not the taxpayer at issue; or (ii)\nthe past-due property taxes were satisfied before the date specified in\nthe notice described in subdivision six of this section. However,\nnothing in this subdivision is intended to limit a taxpayer from seeking\nrelief from joint and several liability pursuant to section six hundred\nfifty-four of this chapter to the extent that he or she is eligible\npursuant to that subdivision or establishing to the department that the\nenforcement of the underlying property taxes has been stayed by the\nfiling of a petition pursuant to the Bankruptcy Code of 1978 (Title\nEleven of the United States Code).\n 10. Assessors. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the\ncontrary, the department may disclose to assessors such information as\nthe commissioner deems necessary to ensure that the STAR exemptions of\ndelinquent property owners are disallowed as required by this section.\n (b) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, an assessor\nshall be authorized and directed to deny a STAR exemption to a\ndelinquent property owner upon being directed by the department to do\nso. If an assessor should receive such a directive after the applicable\nassessment roll has been filed, the assessor or other official having\ncustody and control of that roll shall be authorized and directed to\nremove such exemption from such roll prior to the levy of school taxes,\nwithout regard to the provisions of title three of article five of the\nreal property tax law or any comparable laws governing the correction of\nadministrative errors on assessment rolls and tax rolls.\n 11. Recovery of STAR benefits in certain cases. The commissioner may\nestablish procedures to be followed in cases where a STAR credit or\nexemption was inadvertently or erroneously provided to a delinquent\nproperty owner who was sent the notice required by subdivision six of\nthis section, and whose past-due property taxes were not paid in full by\nthe date specified in the notice. Such procedures shall include, but not\nbe limited to, (a) applying the improperly received STAR credit or\nexemption as an offset against future STAR credits or against other\npersonal income tax credits or personal income tax refunds to which the\ndelinquent property owner would otherwise be entitled, and (b) pursuing\nany of the other remedies that are available to enforce a personal\nincome tax debt under article twenty-two of this chapter.\n (12) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary,\nthe commissioner shall extend the date by which any delinquent property\nowner shall be required to pay his or her past-due property taxes in\nfull in order to receive STAR credits or STAR exemptions, until after\nthe end of the COVID-19 state disaster emergency declared by executive\norder number two hundred two and any further amendments or modifications\nthereto, and as may be further extended pursuant to section twenty-eight\nof the executive law. The department shall notify all delinquent\nproperty owners of such extension.\n