Bill Text: NY S08395 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the COVID-19 emergency property tax credit to provide the commissioner of taxation and finance, as soon as practicable and subject to the appropriation of funds, including federal funds, for this purpose, to implement an emergency COVID-19 property tax program in the form of a tax credit for those eligible; defines terms; makes related provisions.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-05-21 - REFERRED TO BUDGET AND REVENUE [S08395 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S08395-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8395 IN SENATE May 21, 2020 ___________ Introduced by Sen. GAUGHRAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Budget and Revenue AN ACT to amend the tax law and the real property tax law, in relation to establishing the COVID-19 emergency property tax credit The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new 2 subsection (n-3) to read as follows: 3 (n-3) COVID-19 emergency property tax credit. 1. Legislative findings. 4 The legislature finds that it is in the public interest to ensure that 5 individuals and families are not rendered homeless or severely finan- 6 cially burdened because of an inability to pay the cost of property 7 taxes due to loss of income due to COVID-19. The legislature further 8 finds that the outbreak of COVID-19 has exacerbated the health risks 9 associated with being homeless and that ensuring increased funding so 10 that individuals and families do not lose their homes and become home- 11 less is an essential part of the state's effort to mitigate the threat 12 of COVID-19 to public health. The legislature further finds that provid- 13 ing funding for individuals and families to pay their property taxes 14 that they would otherwise have difficulty paying will promote the 15 stability and proper maintenance of the housing stock and assist commu- 16 nities in recovering from the adverse social and economic effects of the 17 COVID-19 outbreak. 18 2. Definitions. For purposes of this subsection: 19 (A) "Adjusted annual income" shall mean income minus any deductions 20 allowable at the discretion of the commissioner pursuant to this section 21 and those deductions enumerated as follows: 22 (i) five thousand seven hundred sixty dollars for each dependent; 23 (ii) four thousand eight hundred dollars for an elderly household 24 member and/or a household member with a disability; 25 (iii) the sum total of primary mortgage payments, not including escrow 26 payments, paid by the taxpayer for the qualified property during the tax 27 year; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD16441-02-0S. 8395 2 1 (iv) any reasonable child care expenses necessary to enable a member 2 of the household to be employed or to further his or her education; 3 (v) the sum total of unreimbursed medical expenses for each elderly 4 household member and/or household member with a disability plus unreim- 5 bursed attendant care and/or medical apparatus expenses for each member 6 of the household with a disability which are necessary for any member of 7 the household, including the household member with a disability, to be 8 employed greater than three percent of the annual income; 9 (vi) the sum total of unreimbursed testing and medical expenses for 10 each individual or family member related to a confirmed or suspected 11 case of COVID-19 greater than three percent of the annual income; and 12 (vii) child support payments paid by the taxpayer. 13 (B) "Child care expenses" shall mean expenses related to the care of 14 children under the age of thirteen. 15 (C) "Dependent" shall mean any member of the family who is neither the 16 head of household, nor the head of the household's spouse, and who is 17 under the age of eighteen, a person with a disability, or a full-time 18 student. 19 (D) "Disability" shall mean: 20 (i) the inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by 21 reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which 22 can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be 23 expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve months; 24 or 25 (ii) in the case of an individual who has attained the age of fifty- 26 five and is blind, the inability by reason of such blindness to engage 27 in substantial gainful activity requiring skills or abilities comparable 28 to those of any gainful activity in which they have previously engaged 29 with some regularity and over a substantial period of time; or 30 (iii) a physical, mental, or emotional impairment which: 31 (1) is expected to be of long-continued and indefinite duration; 32 (2) substantially impedes his or her ability to live independently; 33 and 34 (3) is of such a nature that such ability could be improved by more 35 suitable housing conditions; or 36 (iv) a developmental disability that is a severe, chronic disability 37 of an individual that: 38 (I) is attributable to a mental or physical impairment or combination 39 of mental and physical impairments; 40 (II) is manifested before the individual attains age twenty-two; 41 (III) is likely to continue indefinitely; 42 (IV) results in substantial functional limitations in three or more of 43 the following areas of major life activity: 44 (AA) self-care; 45 (BB) receptive and expressive language; 46 (CC) learning; 47 (DD) mobility; 48 (EE) self-direction; 49 (FF) capacity for independent living; 50 (GG) economic self-sufficiency; and 51 (v) reflects the individual's need for a combination and sequence of 52 special, interdisciplinary, or generic services, individualized 53 supports, or other forms of assistance that are of lifelong or extended 54 duration and are individually planned and coordinated. 55 (E) "Elderly" shall mean sixty-two years of age or older.S. 8395 3 1 (F) "Income" shall mean income from all sources of each member of the 2 household, including all wages, tips, over-time, salary, recurring 3 gifts, returns on investments, welfare assistance, social security 4 payments, child support payments, unemployment benefits, and any other 5 government benefit or cash grant. The term "income" shall not include: 6 employment income from children under eighteen years of age, employment 7 income from children eighteen years of age or older who are full-time 8 students, foster care payments, sporadic gifts, groceries provided by 9 persons not living in the household, supplemental nutrition assistance 10 program (SNAP) (food stamp) benefits, earned income disregard (EID), or 11 the earned income tax credit. 12 (G) "Qualified property" means residential real property owned by the 13 taxpayer which is used exclusively for residential purposes; provided 14 however, that in the event any portion of such property is not so used 15 exclusively for residential purposes but is used for other purposes, 16 such portion shall be ineligible for the credit established pursuant to 17 this subsection. 18 (H) "Property taxes" shall mean taxes levied, or portion of those 19 taxes levied, by or on behalf of any county, city, town, village, school 20 district or special district on the qualified property which is attrib- 21 utable to the year two thousand twenty. 22 (I) "State of emergency" shall mean a disaster emergency for the 23 entire state of New York declared in Executive Order two hundred two, 24 beginning on March seventh, two thousand twenty and extending through 25 September seventh, two thousand twenty, as well as any additional time 26 during which such disaster emergency is in effect during the tax year 27 two thousand twenty, should the governor extend it beyond September 28 seventh, two thousand twenty. 29 3. Authority to implement COVID-19 emergency property tax credit. The 30 commissioner, as soon as practicable and subject to the appropriation of 31 funds, including federal funds, for this purpose, shall implement an 32 emergency COVID-19 property tax program in the form of a credit for 33 those eligible pursuant to paragraph four of this subsection. The 34 department shall issue tax credits pursuant to this section, subject to 35 appropriation of funds for this purpose. The commissioner may delegate 36 administration of a portion of this program to the department of labor 37 for those applying or receiving unemployment benefits. The commissioner 38 may also delegate the administration of portions of this program to 39 local taxing jurisdictions in accordance with the provisions of this 40 section. 41 4. Eligibility. (A) An individual taxpayer, or taxpayers if filing 42 joint returns, who meets the eligibility standards in this paragraph 43 shall be allowed a credit against the taxes imposed by this article in 44 the amount specified in paragraph seven of this subsection for the tax 45 year two thousand twenty. 46 (B) To be eligible for the credit, the taxpayer, or taxpayers filing 47 joint returns, on the personal income tax return filed for the year two 48 thousand twenty, must have: 49 (i) been a resident of the state; 50 (ii) owned and primarily resided in qualified property within the 51 state; 52 (iii) had property taxes levied against their qualified property for 53 the year two thousand twenty in an amount which exceeded thirty percent 54 of their adjusted annual income, as defined by this subsection, minus 55 any savings attributable to an exemption on the qualified property 56 pursuant to the real property tax law; andS. 8395 4 1 (iv) either suffered a substantial loss of income as defined by the 2 commissioner, was unemployed and filed for unemployment, or faces immi- 3 nent loss of housing during the state of emergency or within ninety days 4 after the state of emergency. 5 (C) In addition to the eligibility criteria above, the commissioner 6 may promulgate limits on assets as part of any determination of eligi- 7 bility for this program. 8 (D) An individual taxpayer, or taxpayers if filing joint returns, 9 shall not be eligible for this credit if their annual income is in an 10 amount equal to or greater than the taxpayers' taxable income for the 11 year two thousand nineteen. 12 (E) Any ambiguity in eligibility criteria promulgated by the commis- 13 sioner shall be resolved in favor of the applicant when determining 14 eligibility. 15 5. Preference. The commissioner may establish preference in processing 16 applications for this credit. Such preference may account for any or all 17 of the following: 18 (A) The taxpayer's historical income level prior to the state of emer- 19 gency as it relates to the area median income; 20 (B) The taxpayer's property tax burden; 21 (C) The percentage of the household income lost; or 22 (D) The taxpayer or household member's status as a victim of domestic 23 violence. 24 6. Tax lien foreclosure. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the 25 contrary, a tax lien foreclosure initiated pursuant to article eleven of 26 the real property tax law which includes unpaid taxes that could be 27 credited under this section cannot be commenced against a property owner 28 who has applied for this credit unless or until a final determination of 29 ineligibility. The action may proceed ninety days after the determi- 30 nation of ineligibility or after payment is released by the department 31 to the taxing jurisdiction pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph 32 seven of this subsection. 33 7. Amount of credit. (A) For the two thousand twenty taxable year, the 34 amount of the credit shall be equal to the property tax liability of the 35 taxpayer, or taxpayers if filing jointly, which exceeds thirty percent 36 of the taxpayer's income as defined by this subsection divided by twelve 37 and multiplied as follows: if the state of emergency as defined by this 38 subsection is repealed on or before September seventh, two thousand 39 twenty multiplied by six; if the state of emergency as defined by this 40 subsection is repealed on or before October seventh, two thousand twen- 41 ty, but after September seventh, two thousand twenty, multiplied by 42 seven; if the state of emergency as defined by this subsection is 43 repealed on or before November seventh, two thousand twenty, but after 44 October seventh, two thousand twenty, multiplied by eight; if the state 45 of emergency as defined by this subsection is repealed on or before 46 December seventh, two thousand twenty, but after November seventh, two 47 thousand twenty, multiplied by nine; if the state of emergency as 48 defined by this subsection is after December seventh, two thousand twen- 49 ty, multiplied by ten. 50 (B) If the amount of the credit allowed under this subsection shall 51 exceed the taxpayer's tax for the taxable year, the excess shall be 52 treated as an overpayment of tax to be credited or refunded in accord- 53 ance with the provisions of section six hundred eighty-six of this arti- 54 cle, provided however, that no interest shall be paid thereon. The 55 commissioner shall develop a process for taxpayers to apply for the 56 credit upon filing their taxes for the year two thousand twenty. UponS. 8395 5 1 receipt of the taxpayer's application, the commissioner shall determine 2 the taxpayer's eligibility for this credit utilizing the information 3 available to the commissioner on the taxpayer's personal income tax 4 return filed for the taxable year two thousand twenty, and any addi- 5 tional information that the commissioner may require in order to make an 6 eligibility determination. For those taxpayers whom the commissioner has 7 determined eligible for this credit, the commissioner shall issue a 8 refund payment in the amount specified in subparagraph (A) of this para- 9 graph. A taxpayer that does not receive a refund payment but believes 10 that he or she is eligible, or whom receives a refund payment that he or 11 she believes is less than the amount that was due to him or her, may 12 request payment of the claimed deficiency in a manner prescribed by the 13 commissioner. 14 (C) Notwithstanding the subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph, 15 for eligible taxpayers who have unpaid two thousand twenty property 16 taxes levied against their qualified property, no credit shall be 17 issued. Payment shall instead be made directly to a taxing jurisdiction 18 certifying that the eligible taxpayer has unpaid tax liability for the 19 year two thousand twenty on the qualified property. The commissioner 20 shall have the authority to implement any policy or procedure necessary 21 to determine whether the taxpayer has paid their property taxes due for 22 the year two thousand twenty. The commissioner shall promulgate rules 23 and regulations to determine priority for payment to a taxing jurisdic- 24 tion when multiple claims are made for unpaid property taxes levied 25 during the year two thousand twenty. 26 8. In the event that the state of emergency as defined by this 27 subsection shall continue through any period of any taxable year after 28 two thousand twenty, the COVID-19 emergency property tax credit shall be 29 available to eligible taxpayers for qualified property to the same 30 extent and in the same manner as provided in this subsection. 31 § 2. The real property tax law is amended by adding a new section 1107 32 to read as follows: 33 § 1107. COVID-19 emergency property tax credit. Notwithstanding 34 anything to the contrary, no action shall be commenced pursuant to this 35 section during the pendency of the state of emergency as defined in 36 subparagraph (I) of paragraph two of subsection (n-3) of section six 37 hundred six of the tax law. No action may subsequently be commenced 38 which would otherwise conflict with paragraph six of subsection (n-3) of 39 section six hundred six of the tax law. 40 § 3. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part 41 of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to 42 be invalid and after exhaustion of all further judicial review, the 43 judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, 44 but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, para- 45 graph, section or part of this act directly involved in the controversy 46 in which the judgment shall have been rendered. 47 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
