[Adopted 10-19-1983 by L.L. No. 3-1983; amended in its entirety 10-26-1983 by L.L. No.
4-1983]
[Amended 7-10-2018 by L.L. No. 2-2018; 1-3-2023 by L.L. No. 1-2023]
The Board of Trustees of the Village of Wesley Hills having heretofore enacted a local law providing for the granting of a partial exemption from real property taxation for Village tax purposes to certain persons 65 years of age or over pursuant to § 467 of the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York, said Local Law No. 3 of 1983, as amended by Local Law No. 4 of 1983 and Local Law No. 2 of 2018, is hereby further amended so as to provide that, for assessment rolls prepared on the basis of taxable status dates on or after January 1, 2023, all real property in the Village of Wesley Hills owned by one or more persons, each of whom is 65 years of age or over, or real property owned by a husband and wife, one of whom is 65 years of age or over, shall be exempt from taxation by the Village of Wesley Hills to the extent allowed in the schedule contained in § 200-2 hereof, provided that the requirements set forth in § 200-3 hereof are complied with in full.
[Amended 7-10-2018 by L.L. No. 2-2018; 1-3-2023 by L.L. No. 1-2023]
The percentage of assessed valuation of such real property,
as shown on the Village assessment roll, which shall be exempt from
taxation by the Village of Wesley Hills shall be determined from the
following schedule:
|
Annual Income of Applicant or Applicants
|
Percentage of Assessed Valuation Exempt from Taxation
|
|---|---|
|
Less than $50,000
|
50%
|
|
$50,000 but less than $51,000
|
45%
|
|
$51,000 but less than $52,000
|
40%
|
|
$52,000 but less than $53,000
|
35%
|
|
$53,000 but less than $53,900
|
30%
|
|
$53,900 but less than $54,800
|
25%
|
|
$54,800 but less than $55,700
|
20%
|
|
$55,700 but less than $56,600
|
15%
|
|
$56,600 but less than $57,500
|
10%
|
|
$57,500 but less than $58,400
|
5%
|
In order to qualify for an exemption, the following requirements
must be met:
A.
All of the owners of real property must be 65 years of age or over
on the date the application is filed. However, where said property
is owned jointly by a husband and wife, only one spouse must be 65
years of age or over on the date of filing the application; and where
the property is owned jointly by a husband and wife, upon the death
of the spouse who is 65 years of age or over, the exemption will continue,
provided that the surviving spouse is at least 62 years of age.
B.
Title to the property shall have been vested in the owner or one
of the owners for at least 24 consecutive months prior to the date
the application is filed; provided, however, that in the event of
the death of either a husband or wife in whose name title of the property
shall have been vested at the time of death and then becomes vested
solely in the survivor by virtue of devise by or descent from the
deceased husband or wife, the time of ownership of the property by
the deceased husband or wife shall be deemed also a time of ownership
by the survivor, and such ownership shall be deemed continuous for
the purposes of computing such period of 24 months; provided further
that in the event of a transfer by either a husband or wife to the
other spouse of all or part of the title to the property, the time
of ownership of the property by the transferor spouse shall be deemed
also a time of ownership by the transferee spouse, and such ownership
shall be deemed continuous for the purposes of computing such period
of 24 months; and provided further that where property of the owner
or owners has been acquired to replace property formerly owned by
such owner or owners and taken by eminent domain or other involuntary
proceeding, except a tax sale, the period of ownership of the former
property shall be combined with the period of ownership of the property
for which application is made for exemption, and such periods of ownership
shall be deemed to be consecutive for the purposes of computing such
period of 24 months; and further provided that where a residence is
sold and replaced with another within one year and both residences
are within the State of New York, the period of ownership of the former
property shall be combined with the period of ownership of the property
for which application is made for exemption, and such periods of ownership
shall be deemed to be consecutive for the purposes of computing such
period of 24 months.
C.
The property must be used exclusively for residential purposes and
occupied in whole or in part by the owner or owners and constitute
the legal residence of the owner or owners.
D.
The income of the owner or the combined income of all of the owners for the income tax year immediately preceding the date of making application for exemption must not exceed the sum of the maximum income exemption eligibility level for the granting of a partial exemption from real property taxation as provided in the then-current local law enacted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Wesley Hills pursuant to § 467 of the Real Property Tax Law, plus an amount not to exceed $2,999.99 and consistent with the schedule provided in § 200-2 hereof. Where title of the property is vested in either a husband or wife, the combined income of the husband and wife many not exceed such sum. Such income shall include all social security and retirement benefits, interest, dividends, total gain from the sale or exchange of a capital asset which may be offset by a lose from the sale or exchange of a capital asset in the same income tax year, net rental income, salary or earnings, and net income from self-employment, but shall not include a return of capital, gifts or inheritances. In computing net rental income and net income from self-employment, no depreciation deduction shall be allowed for the exhaustion, wear and tear of real or personal property held for the production of income. "Income tax year" shall mean the twelve-month period for which the owner or owners filed a federal personal income tax return or, if no such return is filed, the calendar year.
An application for exemption, pursuant to this article, must
be made by the owner or all of the owners of the property, on forms
furnished by the Village Clerk's office, and the application must
be filed in the Village Clerk's office on or before the taxable status
date of the Village. An application for such an exemption by the owner
or owners must be filed annually.
Upon the determination by the Village Clerk that the requirements of this article have been met, the exemption shall be allowed to the extent set forth in the schedule contained in § 200-2 hereof. The exemption does not apply to special ad valorem levies or special assessments.
The burden of proof is upon the applicant to show eligibility
pursuant to this article.
Any conviction of having made any willful, false statements
in the application for exemption under this article shall be punishable
by a fine of not more than $100 and shall disqualify the applicant
or applicants from further exemption for a period of five years.
In addition to the penalty set forth in § 200-7 hereof, the Village of Wesley Hills may collect any amount of taxes erroneously exempted as a result of an incorrect statement in an application, in the same manner provided for the collection of delinquent taxes pursuant to Article 10 of the Real Property Tax Law.
[Amended 12-13-1994 by L.L. No. 4-1994; 7-10-2018 by L.L. No. 2-2018]
This article shall take effect immediately upon this local law[1] being filed with the Secretary of State and shall apply
to assessment rolls prepared on the basis of taxable status dates
occurring on or after January 1, 2019.
[1]
Editor's Note: See L.L. No. 2-2018, adopted 7-10-2018, a copy
of which is on file in the Village offices.
