A New York bill would allow tax jurisdictions to provide property tax relief to small rental businesses recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under S. 7390, introduced September 20 by Sen. Michelle Hinchey (D), taxing jurisdictions could opt not to assess late fees, interest, or penalties on the property taxes of small rental businesses negatively affected by the pandemic.
A small rental business is a person or business that operates five or fewer rental units, according to the bill.
The legislation would apply to the property taxes owed by the businesses beginning with the state COVID-19 emergency declaration on March 7, 2020, through August 31, 2022.
S. 7390 was referred to the Senate Committee on Rules and would take effect immediately if enacted.
The bill comes on the heels of S. 50001, recently enacted legislation that extends the moratorium on evictions and prevents local governments from engaging in property tax lien sales and tax foreclosures until January 15, 2022.
S. 50001 was signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) September 2, two days after announcing an extraordinary legislative session to address the rent and eviction crisis in the state.
Then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo also allowed local governments to automatically renew property tax exemptions for 2021 for low-income senior citizens and people with disabilities through Executive Order 202.83, signed in December 2020.
Hinchey’s office did not respond to a request for comment by press time.