Unfair School Taxes

[Briggs 16]

Many property owners have homes appraised at 30k or less in value and pay zero to little school taxes.    With several kids being educated Free  maybe have a minimum amount for people who have children in district 

[KarenK 453]

6 minutes ago, Briggs said:

Many property owners have homes appraised at 30k or less in value and pay zero to little school taxes.    With several kids being educated Free  maybe have a minimum amount for people who have children in district 

And many people with kids in school don't pay any property or school taxes at all because they rent.  There is no way to support a school district by only charging property owners with kids in school.  

[Briggs 16]

Just now, KarenK said:

And many people with kids in school don't pay any property or school taxes at all because they rent.  There is no way to support a school district by only charging property owners with kids in school.  

People who rent many get earned income tax credit in tune of up to 10k or more I am saying they should pay also it shouldn't be just owners who have property over the 30k tax assessment 

[Ann 358]

1 hour ago, KarenK said:

And many people with kids in school don't pay any property or school taxes at all because they rent.  There is no way to support a school district by only charging property owners with kids in school.  

I believe the owners of the rental properties factor School, property taxes and insurance in the amount of rent charged.  I know that’s what we did.

[Briggs 16]

20 hours ago, Ann said:

I believe the owners of the rental properties factor School, property taxes and insurance in the amount of rent charged.  I know that’s what we did.

I can list several apartments buildings that pay hardly any school taxes 

[Rod 21]

so give us some examples it can’t be that hard to check the tax roles 

[MsKreed 1,435]

School tax is based on the assessed value of the property. 

It’s around $21 per $1,000 of “full market value” for Elmira and Corning districts, and $16 per $1,000 for HHDS. But the rate is the same for everyone in a district.

The only way to pay less is to successfully challenge the assessment during the designated grievance period, which I suppose some landlords might take the time to do.

20 minutes ago, Rod said:

so give us some examples it can’t be that hard to check the tax roles 

Not hard at all. Plug the address, tax map # and/or owner's name to find tax and assessment history of any property in Chemung County using THIS Tool

[Briggs 16]

1 hour ago, MsKreed said:

School tax is based on the assessed value of the property. 

It’s around $21 per $1,000 of “full market value” for Elmira and Corning districts, and $16 per $1,000 for HHDS. But the rate is the same for everyone in a district.

The only way to pay less is to successfully challenge the assessment during the designated grievance period, which I suppose some landlords might take the time to do.

Not hard at all. Plug the address, tax map # and/or owner's name to find tax and assessment history of any property in Chemung County using THIS Tool

All house's get a star exemption from basic to enhance star 402 William st for example gets a 56k exemption with a total assessment of 42k pays zero school taxes 

[Adam 458]

1 hour ago, MsKreed said:

The only way to pay less is to successfully challenge the assessment

or set yourself up as a :-"Church" and get an 80% discount of your property taxes and fire district charges. in all honesty i think property taxes should not exist, but since they do, there should be no exemptions except for public education properties, hospitals, and actual churches( though once any engage in any form of politics, exemption is gone)

[Adam 458]

4 minutes ago, Briggs said:

a 56k exemption with a total assessment of 42k pays zero school taxes 

how the hell you get a higher exemption than what your assessment is?

[MsKreed 1,435]

13 minutes ago, Adam said:

or set yourself up as a :-"Church" and get an 80% discount of your property taxes and fire district charges. in all honesty i think property taxes should not exist, but since they do, there should be no exemptions except for public education properties, hospitals, and actual churches( though once any engage in any form of politics, exemption is gone)

Since Briggs seemed to be talking about rental/residential properties, my post was about that.

 

Actually, if someone claiming to be a "church" is collecting income from tenants, then whatever portion of the "church" is income/commercial is not exempt.  Even churches that lease their steeples for antennas or cell towers lose a proportionate part of their exemption. 

And hospitals....I know they technically fall into "non profit" definition, but meh....

But when they collect millions for their services and their management is making six figures.....it seems a lot like a commercial enterprise to me. Much more so than the YMCA, Scouts or Fraternal organizations that are run mostly by volunteers and actually donate most of the proceeds they earn from services (food, drinks, etc) after paying for overhead. 

Edited June 12 by MsKreed

[MsKreed 1,435]

23 minutes ago, Briggs said:

All house's get a star exemption from basic to enhance star 402 William st for example gets a 56k exemption with a total assessment of 42k pays zero school taxes 

 STAR eligibility is for a property owner's primary residence.

If they are renting to someone else and do not live there themselves, they shouldn't be eligible.  That's fraud and someone should send a written complaint to the tax assessor and school district to investigate. 

[Briggs 16]

22 minutes ago, Adam said:

how the hell you get a higher exemption than what your assessment is?

Good question 

[MsKreed 1,435]

402 William St...definitely looks weird.

[Briggs 16]

3 hours ago, MsKreed said:

Since Briggs seemed to be talking about rental/residential properties, my post was about that.

 

Actually, if someone claiming to be a "church" is collecting income from tenants, then whatever portion of the "church" is income/commercial is not exempt.  Even churches that lease their steeples for antennas or cell towers lose a proportionate part of their exemption. 

And hospitals....I know they technically fall into "non profit" definition, but meh....

But when they collect millions for their services and their management is making six figures.....it seems a lot like a commercial enterprise to me. Much more so than the YMCA, Scouts or Fraternal organizations that are run mostly by volunteers and actually donate most of the proceeds they earn from services (food, drinks, etc) after paying for overhead. 

712 magee St is owned by Elmira college and is a rental but is tax exempt pays zero sewage tax

[MsKreed 1,435]

To be eligible for Enhanced STAR "The property must be the primary residence of at least one age-eligible owner" (65 or older).

Source

 

 

Besides STAR, municipalities can also "opt in" to additional exemptions for low-income seniors: "Local governments and school districts in New York State can opt to grant a reduction on the amount of property taxes paid by qualifying senior citizens. This is accomplished by reducing the taxable assessment of the senior's home by as much as 50%."

(More info HERE)

And it appears that, unless the local school district specifically allows it....that  exemption doesn't apply if there are school kids living there.  

Quote

Residency eligibility

The property must be the "legal residence" of, and must be occupied by, all of the owners of the property unless:

--a non-resident owner, who is the spouse or former spouse of the resident owner, is absent from the residence due to divorce, legal separation, or abandonment, or

--an owner is absent from the property while receiving health-related services as an in-patient of a residential health care facility

during this period, no one other than the spouse or co-owner of the absent co-owner occupies the property (a residential health care facility is a nursing home or other facility that provides lodging, board and physical care including, but not limited to, the recording of health information, dietary supervision and supervised hygienic services).

The property must be used exclusively for residential purposes. However, if a portion of the property is used for other than residential purposes, the exemption will apply only to the portion used exclusively for residential purposes.

School-age children

Senior citizens are generally not eligible for the senior citizens exemption if they have children living in their home and attending public school. If the child attends a private or parochial school, the senior can still receive the exemption.

School districts can opt to offer the exemption to seniors even if the children in their home are attending public school. However, the school district must require satisfactory proof that the child was not brought into the residence primarily for the purpose of attending a particular school within the district.

 

[MsKreed 1,435]

8 hours ago, Briggs said:

712 magee St is owned by Elmira college and is a rental but is tax exempt pays zero sewage tax

Yeah....I feel the same about private colleges as I do hospitals.  Collecting millions of dollars in exchange for their "services" and being considered non-profit is really infuriating.

I know some exempt institutions offer "in kind" payments in lieu of officially imposed taxes.....but not sure where that information is available. 

[Buddy14904 5]

On 6/11/2024 at 9:58 PM, MsKreed said:

 STAR eligibility is for a property owner's primary residence.

If they are renting to someone else and do not live there themselves, they shouldn't be eligible.  That's fraud and someone should send a written complaint to the tax assessor and school district to investigate. 

county or school district need to have someone on pay role investigating fraud if people are claiming residence falsely.