A variety of new legal precedents being set this year are making it even more urgent for New Yorkers to grieve and appeal their property tax bills.
Here is just some of what’s happening, and why it is making challenging your property taxes assessments and bills so much more critical than before.
Extension Of The Eviction Moratorium
The CDC has again extended the moratorium on evictions until at least the beginning of July 2021. With another COVID wave on the horizon, and renters now over a year behind on rent in some cases, it may be impossible to end this rent free living concept in the foreseeable future without crashing the economy and making tens of millions of people homeless.
For landlords, mortgages can still be due each month, and the utilities and property taxes are still definitely owed. Property owners must minimize their outflow of cash in every way possible if they don’t want to lose their assets.
Supreme Court Backs Streamlined Property Seizure
The supreme court recently refused to hear a case in Ohio which complained the government was skipping the usual process of auctioning properties which were delinquent on property taxes, and instead moving them directly to the land bank.
This sets a new precedent which could be followed by other states and counties to streamline seizing properties from owners if they fall late on property taxes. This makes falling late even more dangerous than ever.
Vaccine Passports
Although vaccine passports and getting COVID vaccines has not yet opened up international travel from countries like the UK, NY has created a new vaccine passport system for residents.
According to Long Island Business News, the new Excelsior Pass acts as a vaccine passport and app which will grant access to public spaces, events, weddings, stadiums and other businesses.
With only around 30% of the population willing to get the vaccine according to CNBC, it’s likely that building values will fall and go vacant, while taxes on everyone else will have to be raised to make up the budget.
Get ahead of this by ensuring your property tax assessment is accurate.
The New $2T Tax Plan
The newly proposed $2T plan tax and spending plan is also an unprecedented number. It immediately increases corporate taxes by 7%. The Wall Street Journal expects this is just the tip of the iceberg, with more new taxes and tax hikes coming under the new white house administration. These will affect individual income taxes, capital gains, and estate taxes.
Most can expect their overall taxes to go up by double digits in the near future if these proposals are signed into law. Now is the time to minimize taxes where you can to offset new ones.