(Mineola, NY) Faced with the possibility that the State legislature may not act on his proposed 5-year phase-in of assessment increases applied to residential properties in Nassau County, Assessor Levinson today reissued his plea calling on legislators to pass (this summer) provisions of his legislative initiative so that homeowners can be given adequate time to adjust to the tremendous tax increases that occur when assessment levels change.
"Given continued increases in the Fair Market Value of homes in Nassau County over recent years and the tremendous tax shifts that hit thousands of homeowners on their 2003-04 School Tax Bill, I believe that residential homeowners should be granted the same protection that is afforded to the owners of condos, co-ops and commercial properties," stated Assessor Levinson. "The legislative proposal that I submitted to Albany earlier this year must be passed and signed into law by the end of August so that adjustments can be made to convert the final assessments on the current assessment roll."
Assessor Levinson's legislative proposal (as it stands) calls for a multi-year phase-in of all increases in assessments that occur as a result of changes in the fair market value of residential properties. Under current law, only Class 2 (Co-ops, Apartment Buildings and Condominiums greater than 3 stories) and Class 4 (Commercial) properties in Nassau County are subject to a multi-year phase-in of assessed value.
The most significant change proposed by Assessor Levinson would be the elimination of the confusing fractional levels of assessment set each year, by using the fair market value of a property. Currently, the Board of Assessors is valuing residential property at 1 % of fair market value. For example, if a home is valued at $500,000, its value for assessment purposes is $5,000. Unless this legislation is signed into law, the taxable value will be $2,500 in 2005-06 and approximately $1,250 in 2006-07. The school property tax rates - without further budgetary increases (which are unlikely) - will soar from an average of $144 to $288 per one hundred dollars of assessed value in 2005-06, and $576 per hundred in 2006-07!
Each time the level of assessment is lowered by fractional levels, a taxing jurisdiction is forced to rapidly increase its tax rates to generate the same amount of revenue. If fair market value is used for taxing purposes, tax rates will decrease significantly.
"Thanks to the responsiveness of Senate Deputy Majority Leader Dean Skelos, Senator Kemp Hannon, Assemblymen Thomas DiNapoli, Harvey Weisenberg and David Sidikman, a serious dialogue regarding the merits of my plan has been taking place over the past few months," Assessor Levinson added. "However, unless my plan is embraced by the Assembly and Senate majorities, many Nassau County homeowners will - once again - be forced to struggle with another year of significant school property tax increases." |
