BILL NUMBER: S9541
SPONSOR: SKOUFIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the real property tax law, in relation to requiring a
collecting officer of taxes to accept payments of tax, including any
interest due thereon, rounded to the nearest five cent denomination
 
PURPOSE:
Requires a collecting officer of taxes to accept any payments of tax,
including any interest due thereon, rounded to the nearest five cent
denomination.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one amends Section 924 of the real property tax law by adding a
new subdivision 4 to allow tax collectors to accept a payment of taxes
rounded up or down to the nearest five cents.
Section two establishes the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Our municipalities are on the precipice of a crisis. With pennies no
longer in production, tax offices will not be able to collect exact
taxes from tax payers who pay with cash. If collectors are not able to
collect exact amounts or produce change for payers, they will leave
these properties in default. This could lead to a low fund balance for
many municipalities, especially those with large populations of seniors
who often pay taxes in cash. This bill is designed so that collectors
will be able to accept tax payments up to 5 cents over, and 5 cents
under the actual tax amount so that property taxes can be collected and
municipalities can have the cash on hand that they need to function
productively.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT:
TBD
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S9541: 924 real property tax law