NY Tax L § 171-W (2021)
2021 New York Laws TAX - Tax Article 8 - Department of Taxation and Finance; Commissioner of Taxation and Finance 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 taxes.  1.  Legislative  findings.  The  legislature  finds  that  local governments  have  limited  means  to enforce the collection of past-due property taxes. The legislature further finds that it is appropriate for the state to support the local enforcement of past-due property taxes by authorizing the commissioner to administer a program  to  disallow  STAR credits   and   exemptions   to  delinquent  property  owners  based  on information reported to him or her by municipal officials.   2. Definitions. For the purposes of this section:  (a) "Delinquent property owner" means a STAR recipient  whose  primary residence is subject to past-due property taxes.  (b)  "Past-due  property  taxes"  means  property taxes that have been levied upon a property owner's primary residence that remain unpaid  one year  after  the  last  date  on which they could have been paid without interest, or where such taxes are payable in installments,  those  taxes that  remain  unpaid  one  year  after  the last date on which the final installment could have been paid without interest.  (c) "STAR credit" means the basic  STAR  personal  income  tax  credit authorized  by  subsection  (eee)  of  section  six  hundred six of this chapter.  (d) "STAR exemption" means the basic STAR exemption from real property taxation authorized by section four  hundred  twenty-five  of  the  real property tax law.  (e)  "STAR  recipient"  means  a  property  owner who is registered to receive the STAR credit in relation to his or her primary residence,  or whose primary residence is receiving the STAR exemption.   3.  STAR  tax  payment  requirement;  generally.  Notwithstanding  any provision of law  to  the  contrary,  a  property  owner  whose  primary residence  is subject to past-due property taxes shall not be allowed to receive a STAR credit or STAR exemption  unless  the  past-due  property taxes   are  paid  in  full  on  or  before  a  date  specified  by  the commissioner.   4. Commissioner's authority. The commissioner is hereby authorized  to develop  a program to support the local enforcement of past-due property taxes by disallowing STAR credits  and  STAR  exemptions  to  delinquent property  owners.  The  commissioner  shall establish procedures for the administration of  this  program,  which  shall  include  the  following provisions:  (a)  The procedures by which municipal officials shall report past-due property taxes and property tax payments to the department.  (b) The procedures by which the  department  shall  notify  delinquent property  owners  of the impending disallowance of their STAR credits or exemptions due to past-due property taxes.  (c) The date by  which  delinquent  property  owners  must  pay  their past-due  property taxes in full in order to avoid disallowance of their STAR credits or exemptions.  (d) The procedures by  which  the  commissioner  shall  disallow  STAR credits  and  notify assessors of the disallowance of STAR exemptions if past-due property taxes are not paid in full by the specified date.  (e) Such other procedures as the commissioner shall deem necessary  to carry out the provisions of this section.   5.   Municipal   reports.   The  commissioner's  procedures  regarding municipal reporting shall be subject to the following provisions:  (a) The commissioner may request and shall be entitled to receive from any municipal corporation of  the  state,  or  any  agency  or  official thereof, such data as the commissioner deems necessary to effectuate the purposes  of  this  section.  Such information shall be submitted to the  department at such time and in  such  manner  as  the  commissioner  may direct.  (b)  In  lieu of requiring municipal officials to submit their reports directly to  the  department,  the  commissioner  may,  in  his  or  her discretion,  require  that  such  reports  be  submitted  to  the county director of real property tax services, who shall integrate the  reports into  a  single file and submit it to the department at such time and in such manner as the commissioner may direct.  Provided,  that  where  the commissioner  institutes  such a procedure, he or she may exclude cities with one hundred twenty-five  thousand  inhabitants  or  more,  so  that information  about  past-due property taxes and property tax payments in such a city shall be reported directly to the department by a designated city official at such time and in such manner as  the  commissioner  may direct.  (c)  Reports and other records prepared pursuant to this section shall not be subject to the provisions of article six of the  public  officers law.   6.  Notification  of  delinquent  property  owners. The commissioner's procedures regarding the  notification  of  delinquent  property  owners shall be subject to the following provisions:  (a) The department shall notify a delinquent property owner by regular mail at least thirty days prior to the date by which his or her past-due property  taxes  must  be paid in full in order to avoid disallowance of his or her STAR credit or exemption.  (b) Such notice shall include a statement that  the  property  owner's STAR  credit  or exemption will be disallowed unless his or her past-due property taxes are paid in full by the date specified in the notice.  (c) To the extent  practicable,  such  notice  shall  provide  contact information  for  the  local  official or officials to whom the past-due property taxes may be paid.  (d) Such notice shall further state that the property owner's right to protest the disallowance of the STAR credit or exemption is  limited  to raising  issues  that  constitute  a  "mistake  of  fact"  as defined in subdivision nine of this section.  (e) Such notice may include such other information as the commissioner may deem necessary.   7. Timely payment of past-due property taxes. If a delinquent property owner pays his or her past-due property taxes in full on or  before  the date specified in such notice, the official receiving such payment shall so  notify  the department at such time and in such manner as prescribed by the commissioner. The property  owner  shall  then  be  permitted  to receive  the STAR credit or exemption that would have been disallowed if timely payment had not been made. However, if the  department  does  not learn  of the payment until after it has already directed an assessor to deny a STAR exemption to a delinquent property owner, then  in  lieu  of directing  the exemption to be restored, the department may remit to the property owner payment in an amount that  will  reimburse  the  property owner  for  the  increase in his or her school tax bill that is directly attributable to the lost STAR exemption.   8. Failure to make timely payment. (a) If the past-due taxes  are  not paid on or before the date specified in the notice that had been sent to the  delinquent property owner, his or her STAR credit or STAR exemption shall be disallowed in accordance with the procedures established by the commissioner.  (b) The property owner shall not be eligible  to  participate  in  the STAR  program  again  as  long  as  the  property is subject to past-due property taxes.  (c) Upon payment of the past-due property taxes in full, the  official receiving  such  payment shall notify the department at such time and in such manner as may be prescribed by the commissioner.  The  commissioner shall then proceed as follows:  (i)  If  the  property  owner  had  previously been receiving the STAR credit, the commissioner shall allow the property owner to resume his or her participation in the STAR credit program on a prospective basis,  if otherwise  eligible,  effective  with  the first taxable year commencing after such payment.  (ii) If the property owner had  previously  been  receiving  the  STAR exemption,   the   commissioner   shall  allow  the  property  owner  to participate in the STAR  credit  program  on  a  prospective  basis,  if otherwise  eligible,  effective  with  the first taxable year commencing after such payment. The property owner shall not be  allowed  back  into the STAR exemption program.  (iii)  The  commissioner shall, when making the first advanced payment of a STAR credit to the property taxpayer after payment of the  past-due property  taxes in full, also pay to such property taxpayer the value of the STAR exemptions or STAR credits that  were  disallowed  pursuant  to paragraph a of this subdivision.   9.  Mistake  of  fact.  Notwithstanding  any other provision of law, a disallowance of a STAR credit or STAR exemption pursuant to this section may only be challenged before the department on the grounds of a mistake of fact as defined in this subdivision. The taxpayer will have no  right to  commence a court action, administrative proceeding or any other form of legal recourse against an assessor, county director of real  property tax  services  or  other local official regarding such disallowance. For the purposes of this subdivision, "mistake of fact" is limited to claims that: (i) the individual notified is not the taxpayer at issue; or  (ii) the  past-due property taxes were satisfied before the date specified in the notice described  in  subdivision  six  of  this  section.  However, nothing in this subdivision is intended to limit a taxpayer from seeking relief  from joint and several liability pursuant to section six hundred fifty-four of this chapter to the extent that  he  or  she  is  eligible pursuant  to that subdivision or establishing to the department that the enforcement of the underlying property taxes  has  been  stayed  by  the filing  of  a  petition  pursuant  to the Bankruptcy Code of 1978 (Title Eleven of the United States Code).   10. Assessors.  (a)  Notwithstanding  any  provision  of  law  to  the contrary,  the  department may disclose to assessors such information as the commissioner deems necessary to ensure that the STAR  exemptions  of delinquent property owners are disallowed as required by this section.  (b)  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, an assessor shall be  authorized  and  directed  to  deny  a  STAR  exemption  to  a delinquent  property  owner  upon being directed by the department to do so. If an assessor should receive such a directive after the  applicable assessment  roll  has  been filed, the assessor or other official having custody and control of that roll shall be  authorized  and  directed  to remove  such exemption from such roll prior to the levy of school taxes, without regard to the provisions of title three of article five  of  the real property tax law or any comparable laws governing the correction of administrative errors on assessment rolls and tax rolls.   11.  Recovery  of STAR benefits in certain cases. The commissioner may establish procedures to be followed in cases  where  a  STAR  credit  or exemption  was  inadvertently  or  erroneously  provided to a delinquent property owner who was sent the notice required by  subdivision  six  of this section, and whose past-due property taxes were not paid in full by the date specified in the notice. Such procedures shall include, but not  be  limited  to,  (a)  applying  the  improperly received STAR credit or exemption as an offset against future  STAR  credits  or  against  other personal  income tax credits or personal income tax refunds to which the delinquent  property owner would otherwise be entitled, and (b) pursuing any of the other remedies that  are  available  to  enforce  a  personal income tax debt under article twenty-two of this chapter.