A Professional who cares..About YOU!
updated regularly
Property Tax Relief: Military Vets, Volunteers & Others
Although most focus on the federal deficit and have their opinion as to what could have been done to avoid or correct it, our states and local government officials are also faced with huge deficits in our local and state fiscal budgets. Regardless of the reasons why, they must be fixed; however with the national economy in turmoil with over ten million Americans now unemployed and the numbers rapidly increasing, We The People need relief immediately! Although local legislators may be reluctant to reduce revenues when it is needed most, we have relied on them to maintain fiscal responsibility for our communities and now it is time that we cause them to own their mistakes and grant us immediate tax relief and look to alternatives to balance the budgets.
Using Putnam and Dutchess Counties in NY as examples, while over the past several years residents were burdened with increasing gasoline, home heating, insurance and heating costs, they have been hammered with ever increasing property tax bills while their home vales have declined significantly. Residents have seen a significant reduction in disposable income as costs have increased while their total income has decreased due to loss of employment and in some cases being forced to take pay cuts in order to keep their jobs. Consistently, more and more homeowners are listed in local newspapers as being in default of their property tax bills and faced with losing their homes simply because they have not been able to withstand the constant increases in school and county and local property tax assessments. Take for instance a resident of Fishkill, NY who was recently notified by her bank that they underestimated her tax escrow and to make up for the increase in the current year's taxes and escrow for the year to follow, she had to pay an additional $300 per month. Regardless of how she tries she simply cannot pay such a substantial increase, and to add insult to injury, her property value has declined by over 20% in the last 18 months.
Up until the time that the banking crisis was announced (although it did not occur overnight-just the news was withheld) people were using home equity loans and refinancing their mortgages based on inflated property values just to get by. Now mortgage money has dried up and the value of homes is often now less than the amount owed, commonly known as an "upside down" mortgage. So what are "We-The People" going to do.
One thing is to take advantage of every single property tax exemption available. With today's internet this information is available to almost everyone. Two examples are property tax exemptions for military veterans and volunteer ambulance and fire fighters (there is also income tax relief available for local EMS and Fire Fighters as well). But these are not granted automatically and one needs to file an application before the deadline. Applications and information for NYS residents are available at http://www.orps.state.ny.us/ref/forms/subjects/exempt.htm. I strongly suggest that if you are a homeowner that you review these applications and visit your government websites for more information NOW before you miss the deadlines.
Another thing that everyone needs to do is to "GOYA" and see what houses in your neighborhood, that are comparable to yours, have sold for within the past 6-12 months and compare it to the amount shown as your assessed value on your property tax bill. You should also check the municipal records to see what comparable homes are being assessed at and again compare these to yours. Also check local property tax legislation to see what relief may be available for disabled or partially disabled persons as well as other reasons for granting tax relief, such as economic or other listed hardships.
After you have done that you need to obtain the necessary applications to file a grievance regarding your tax assessment and apply for tax relief before the deadline. Although you won't be able to claim a refund for prior years over payments, you may be able to get relief against future assessments.
It has been my experience as a corporate tax executive that filing a property tax grievance is sometimes better done in groups than by single applications. So contact your neighbors and form a community action group. Also reach out to your local legislators who need your votes and demand that they support your efforts. Meet with your legislative representatives in person and do it in groups.
While you are meeting with your local legislators, bring up other issues such as increased relief of existing legislation for seniors or other members of the community and propose tax relief for others. For two years now, bills by both the NY Senate and the Assembly have been sitting dormant concerning property tax relief for members of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary. Despite the fact that tax relief is available to volunteer fire fighters and ambulance corp members as well as past and present members of the U.S. military, even though the U.S.C.G. Auxiliary is known as "America's Life Savers", bills before both the Senate and the Assembly have not been passed. The USCG Auxiliary is a component of the U.S. Coast Guard, under the U.S. government Department of Homeland Security with some individual members investing thousands of dollars in equipment and uniforms along with devoting hundreds hours of their personal time to saves the lives of men, women and children through boating and water safety education, training, vessel inspection, providing direct support to the USCG operations along with surface and air patrols using their own boats and airplanes; not to mention their dedication to maritime community and national security by participating in what is called "America's Waterway Watch". So why is it that these bills are being passed over by our legislators. And what about the many others who freely give their time to extensively train and devote their time to helping local law enforcement and supporting Search and Rescue efforts, responding to Amber alerts, natural disasters and other emergencies. My position is that if someone is going to give of themselves to help their communities they should be rewarded as well and should not be ignored in legislative provisions that provide property and income tax relief.
As I have said many times, "If it is to be, it is up to me". The survival of our financial future rests in our hands and should not be left to our elected or appointed officials; however the power of "we-the people" is only as effective as we want it to be. The time to act is now.