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CAPITOL
Tax rebate checks have catch
The Associated Press

   Before taxpayers get those tax rebate checks promised in the state budget three months ago, they will have to apply for the breaks.
   The Republican-led Senate says the system for paying out the $1.3 billion will lead to chaos and unfairly require taxpayers to apply for their own money. Gov. Eliot Spitzer, however, says the simple, extra step will assure that middle class families get a bigger check, which was the intent.
   Either way, the checks from the 2006-07 budget — which should be about double the sums paid last fall — won’t be in the mail for months.
   The reimbursement formula is expected to yield a $316 check for a typical Erie County family with household income under $120,000 and about $587 for a similar Nassau County family because of the much higher property taxes on Long Island.
   The state Department of Taxation and Finance will run a campaign to advise taxpayers on how to get their checks, which are expected to be sent in the fall.
   But the Democratic governor and Senate Republican leader Joseph Bruno, who have been feuding at a high pitch even for Albany, aren’t together on the program, even though both were instrumental getting the rebates passed on April 1.
   “It appears his administration is going to turn a very successful program of property tax rebate checks into a colossal disaster,” Bruno said.
   But Spitzer said the paperwork is essential to the “means test” he required to make sure middle class families benefit the most.  

  
  
  

They have you fill out paperwork so they can take your money.  Then, in order to get your money back, so you're "protected," you need to fill out more paperwork?    

What a freakin' joke....it was Julius CeasarII that had to recind his words after promising to  open the $$ storehouse to pay the masses to get their support.......old meaning with a new date......

There's a program already in place called income tax, the state knows about every dime you make, how many kids you have, property and school taxes so why do we need to fill out anyther form?

Shadow - You honestly took the 'posting words' right out of my mouth!!! That is exactly what I though when I read this article. They probalby know more about us than we do. And yet we, AGAIN, have to fill out even more paper work. It's like making the taxpayer 'beg' for the money they rightly have coming. And ya know there will be people who will not fill out the paperwork, and that is what they are banking on. Then they will have some bucks left over.

That is so we dont have to fill it out later in our income tax like the last 'crumb'.....it would make it soooo much easier for them if we were all just unionized--in the conventional/political sense,, that is

How about all the seniors that very old and not as sharp as they used to be, who will help them fill out their forms and if they do it wrong will they be denied the tax rebate? I know that my Mom would never be able to fill hers out[she's 91] so I'll be filling hers out but everyone doesn't have someone to do it.

From an e-mail I got from the
State Property Tax Rebate Forms Coming By August 15th

Homeowners should see information regarding the state property tax rebate in their mail by August 15th. That is according to state lawmakers who expect to answer plenty of questions as well.

A letter of explanation and an actual application form will be sent out to Basic Star homeowners.

This is the second year of the rebate program.

Last year the checks were sent out automatically in the fall. But for 2007 there is a requirement to report income back to the state to qualify for the program. That is because Governor Spitzer and the legislature required means testing and the rebate is phased out for anyone with an income above $ 250,000.

For the average homeowner with an income under $90,000, the rebate should be about double the amount of their current Basic Star amount.

Senior citizen property owners over age 65 will not need to apply because they should now receive the Enhanced Star benefit with their income already verified.

Some lawmakers say they expect many calls and questions. That is why they are also putting out newsletters for constituents with complete information. They also point out that people should fill out the application as soon as possible to make sure it is processed in a timely way. They also say that will help to speed up an appeals process if there are any problems. The cutoff date to apply for the rebate is November 30th.

You can also go to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance for more information. That includes a chart to help estimate the amount of a rebate for your community.Homeowners should see information regarding the state property tax rebate in their mail by August 15th. That is according to state lawmakers who expect to answer plenty of questions as well.

A letter of explanation and an actual application form will be sent out to Basic Star homeowners.

Thanks BK that clarifies what's going to happen with regards to the tax rebate form that we're going to have to fill out. At least they didn't make the older seniors have to do anything to get their rebate.

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But for 2007 there is a requirement to report income back to the state to qualify for the program. That is because Governor Spitzer and the legislature required means testing and the rebate is phased out for anyone with an income above $ 250,000.

This statement means they really dont know what they are doing---no one is keeping track(or a close eye) of the taxes,,,,

I guess that means none of us have to file anything anymore---the only folks who have to file are those who think their deductions/loopholes are worth their effort in gold--that would be the folks over that $250,000 mark.......

OR.....the state is collecting 'other' info......

I say keep the crumb and dont bother me with the paper work anymore........

wwww.dailygazette.com

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NEW YORK STATE
Rules change for STAR tax rebates
BY PAM ALLEN Gazette Reporter

   Last year, it took little more than a signature and a quick trip to the bank to cash in on the state’s first STAR tax rebate program.
   Don’t expect this year’s rebate to come quite as effortlessly; every qualified household will be required to fill out an application to lay claim to the money.
   The small task will reap added benefits, though, as the average rebate check could double 2006’s refund amount.
   An estimated 94 percent of all homeowners across the state are expected to receive a larger rebate check this year under the Middle Class STAR (school tax relief) Rebate Program, an expanded property tax relief initiative and a top priority of Gov. Eliot Spitzer. The three-year incentive approved as part of the state’s 2007 budget and designed to decrease the tax burden for qualified homeowners.
   “Real property taxes have risen dramatically over the last decade and are among the highest in the nation,” Spitzer said April 1 when the 2007 budget was enacted.
   As many as 79 percent of all qualified recipients are eligible for the maximum amount, according to the state Office of Real Property Services.
   In order to qualify for this year’s rebate, households must earn less than $250,000 and already be signed up for Basic STAR, a taxrelief program started in 1997 to ease the burden of property taxes that pay for public schools.
   Seniors and others signed up for Enhanced STAR will not need to apply specifically for the rebate.
   The program is expected to return $1.3 billion to 2.7 million property owners this year, and a total of $5.3 billion over three years. Commercial, industrial and multihousing units are not eligible for STAR, and therefore not eligible for the 2007 refund.
   Eligible taxpayers will be notifi ed by mail of the application process, which is being finalized by the state Department of Taxation and Finance.
   Letters explaining the rebate program and application forms will be sent downstate beginning in mid-July, according to Tom Bergin, spokesman for the state Department of Taxation and Finance.
DEADLINE NOV. 30
   Assessors in New York City and Yonkers are the first to finish their tax rolls, and so the process will start in those areas first.
   After that, the information will be sent out in the western part of the state, then move eastward, Bergin said,
   Another change will involve how and when the rebate checks are sent. Last year, the checks were sent in groups according to county. This year, they will be sent according to the dates the applications are received.
   The last applications should be mailed out in mid-September. Online filers should receive checks within a few weeks of filing.
   Mailed applications will take a while longer, he said.
   Deadline for applications is Nov. 30. Unlike last year, households that are not already receiving Basic and Enhanced STAR will not be able to submit applications for the rebate, according to the ORPS Web site.
   Unlike last year, when taxpayers received a flat amount based on their county of residence, this year’s refund takes into consideration income, the tax rate of the respective school district and the property’s assessed value.
   “We have to connect all the information to come up with [a rebate] amount,” Bergin said.
   Filling out the application will be a simple process, he said. The information required will include the name(s) of the property owners as listed on the deed, their Social Security numbers, an indication as to whether or not the property owners filed income tax forms for 2005 and one or two other minor questions, Bergin said.
   Only a small number of taxpayers will have to report the rebate as income, according to Barbara Billett, the agency’s acting commissioner.
   The Internal Revenue Service, which establishes criteria for income reporting, determined that the rebate checks need not be reported by taxpayers who take the standard deduction, she said.
MASSACHUSETTS MODEL
   Those who itemize deductions on their state and federal tax returns will be required to deduct the amount of school taxes included in their real property tax deduction by the amount of the refund check they received.
   The only time someone must report the rebate check as income is when the amount of the rebate is higher than the amount actually paid in school taxes, Billet said.
   In such a case, the taxpayer must report the difference between the taxes paid and the amount of the check, she said.
   The average basic STAR savings upstate was $640 in 2006-07. The enhanced initiative is expected to grow by $384, for a total STAR benefit of $1,024 for the 2007-08 school year, Spitzer said.
   Opponents of the rebate say the program is not a tax cut, and merely shifts the burden from the individual taxpayer to the state, which also relies on taxpayer money.
   They also say STAR encourages school districts to raise taxes, as the program provides the illusion of a tax savings.
   “The STAR experience confirms the wisdom of a long-standing axiom in public finance: When you subsidize something, you get more of it,” said Edmund J. McMahon, director of Empire Center for new York State Policy, a conservative watchdog group based in Albany.
   New York state should take the lead of Massachusetts, which 25 years ago boasted the second highest combined state and local tax burden relative to income in the country, McMahon said. New York was the highest.
   Massachusetts now ranks 28th, after voters in 1980 agreed to limit the annual tax levy in any given municipality to 2.5 percent, and cap total property taxes at 2.5 percent of market value.
   McMahon said that while perstudent cost continue to increase in the Bay State, local tax increases stayed small.
   Over time, the Commonwealth assumed a larger share of local school expenses but the income tax rate did not go up.
   According to McMahon, property tax levies in New York state have risen by 41 percent since 1998, almost twice the rate of inflation.  

  
  
  

What happens to the "unclaimed" $$?????????????????  I see slush........

What "new state dept" gets to handle all these 'claims'???????????????

All the unclaimed money will be put in a fund waiting for people to claim it. But I'll bet the state gets to use the interest for it's pet projects too.

My God, the government has us running around like mice in a maze, trying to find that stupid peice of cheese. Which rightly belongs to us anyways! This is getting just way too rediculous.

Not mice in a maze but, cattle with a ring in our nose and a nice chain hooked to it for steering......we all vote our pocketbooks.....and----it's never enough ,,,,that is why we have no sewers...........