[Adopted by the Board of Representatives (now County
Legislature) of Tompkins County 12-3-1996 by L.L. No. 5-1996]
This article is enacted pursuant to § 467
of the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York, as amended
by Chapter 198 of the Laws of 1990.
[Amended 4-4-2000 by L.L. No. 3-2000]
A.
Pursuant to the provisions of § 467 of the
Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York, real property located
in the County of Tompkins, owned by one or more persons each of whom
is 65 years of age or over, or real property owned by husband and
wife, one of whom is 65 years of age or over, shall be partially exempt
from taxation by said County for the applicable taxes specified in
§ 467 based upon the income of the owner or combined income
of the owners. A person otherwise qualifying for such exemption shall
not be denied such exemption if such person becomes 65 years of age
after the appropriate taxable status date and before December 31 of
the same year. Such partial exemption shall be to the extent set forth
in the schedule following:
|
Annual Income of Owner or Combined Annual
Income of Owner
|
Percentage Assessed Valuation Exempt From
Taxation
|
|---|---|
|
M or less than M
|
50%
|
|
More than (M) but less than (M + $1,000)
|
45%
|
|
(M + $1,000 or more) but less than (M + $2,000)
|
40%
|
|
(M + $2,000 or more) but less than (M + $3,000)
|
35%
|
|
(M + $3,000 or more) but less than (M + $3,900)
|
30%
|
|
(M + $3,900 or more) but less than (M + $4,800)
|
25%
|
|
(M + $4,800 or more) but less than (M + $5,700)
|
20%
|
|
M = the income eligibility level as set by the
County Legislature and consistent with § 467 of the Real
Property Tax Law.
| |
B.
This partial exemption provided by this article shall,
however, be limited to such property and persons as meet the conditions,
qualifications, exclusions, and limitations set forth in § 467
of the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York. This article
shall be administered in accordance with said sections of the Real
Property Tax Law, as now adopted, and as they may be amended from
time to time, and the provisions of said section as provided in § 467,
shall be applicable to the effectuation of the exemption provided
for in this article.
Application for such exemption must be made
by the owner or all of the owners of the property on forms prescribed
by the State Board to be furnished by the Tompkins County Assessment
Department and shall furnish the information and be executed in the
manner required or prescribed in such forms, and shall be filed in
the Assessment Department office on or before the appropriate taxable
status date.
[Added 5-2-2000 by L.L. No. 5-2000]
Notwithstanding § 150-3, an application for such exemption may be filed with the Assessor after the appropriate taxable status date but not later than the last date on which a petition with respect to complaints of assessment may be filed, where failure to file a timely application resulted from: a death of the applicant's spouse, child, parent, brother or sister; or an illness of the applicant or of the applicant's spouse, child, parent, brother or sister, which actually prevents the applicant from filing on a timely basis, as certified by a licensed physician. The assessor shall approve or deny such application as if it had been filed on or before the taxable status date.
[Added 5-2-2000 by L.L. No. 5-2000]
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this
article, the Assessor may accept applications for renewal of exemptions
pursuant to this article after the appropriate taxable status date.
In the event that the owner, or all of the owners, of property which
has received an exemption pursuant to this article on the preceding
assessment roll fail to file the application required pursuant to
this article on or before the taxable status date, such owner or owners
may file the application, executed as if such application had been
filed on or before the taxable status date, with the Assessor on or
before the date for the hearing of complaints.
[Added 9-3-2002 by L.L. No. 8-2002]
Any person who has been granted exemption pursuant
to this article on five consecutive completed assessment rolls, including
any years when the exemption was granted to a property owned by a
husband and/or wife while both resided on such property, shall not
be subject to the application requirements set forth in this article.
Such exemption shall be automatically granted on each subsequent assessment
roll; provided, however, that when tax payment is made by such person
a sworn affidavit must be included with such payment, which shall
state that such person continues to be eligible for such exemption.
Such affidavit shall be on a form prescribed by the State Board.
Any conviction of having made any willful false
statement of the application for such exemption 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.
This article shall, in accordance with the provisions
of § 2 of Chapter 198 of the Laws of 1990, be applicable
to the County tax for the year 1996, and the provisions of said law
shall govern the granting of an exemption under § 467 of
the Real Property Tax Law, notwithstanding any contrary provisions
of the section.
