BILL NUMBER: S9278
SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the real property tax law, in relation to the determi-
nation of adjusted base proportions in special assessing units which are
cities
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill would amend section 1803-a of the Real Property Tax Law to
allow the local legislative body to amend the cap on the maximum class
growth rate as long as it does not exceed 5 percent for fiscal year
2023.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of this bill adds a new paragraph (mm) to subdivision one of
section 1803-a of the Real Property Tax Law to allow the New York City
Council to increase or decrease the class shares, which are percentages
of the overall property tax levy that each individual property tax class
must meet, by up to five percent compared to the FY24 tax year, so long
as the Council makes such determination by November 1st, 2024.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
State law requires New York City to adopt class shares based on rates
calculated by the State Board of Real Property Services (SBRPS) in order
to distribute the tax levy among the four classes of real property. In
most years the State Board's class equalization rates cause the tax
burden on property tax class one, consisting of one-, two-, and three-
family homes, to increase.
Currently, state law provides that the current base proportion of any
one class may not exceed the adjusted base proportion for that class
from the prior year by more than five percent. This bill will permit the
local legislative body to lower the cap on the maximum growth rate of
any tax class's share of the overall tax levy. Flexibility to lower
said cap will allow the Council to adopt fiscal 2023 tax rates that
balance providing relief for the residential property tax class one
without placing undue burdens on the other property tax classes.
Failure to enact this legislation would leave the New York City Council
no option but to adopt the default SBRPS formula for establishing class
shares, thus forcing tax rates that may unfairly burden one property tax
class over another. This bill enables the City Council flexibility in
setting real property tax rates in order to ensure that no single subset
of property owners sees a massive spike in their tax liability compared
to the prior tax year.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediate

Statutes affected:
S9278: 1803-a real property tax law, 1803-a(1) real property tax law