[Adopted 5-24-2004 by L.L. No. 2-2004[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law superseded former Art. V, Senior Citizens Tax Exemption, adopted 5-9-1994 by L.L. No. 1-1994.
The purpose of this article is to provide real estate tax relief to qualified persons 65 years of age or older.
This article is enacted pursuant to the provisions of Article 4 of the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York, as amended.
This article shall hereafter be known as the "City of Hornell Over 65 Real Property Tax Exemption Law."
Real property located in the City of Hornell and owned by one or more persons, each of whom is 65 years of age or over, or real property owned by husband and wife, one of whom is 65 years of age or over, shall be exempt from taxation by the City of Hornell to the extent of 50% of the assessed valuation thereof.
A. 
No real property shall be entitled to the exemption granted by this article:
(1) 
If the income of the owner or the combined income of the owners for the income tax year immediately preceding the date of making application for exemption exceeds the sum of $18,000. Income tax years shall mean the twelve-month period for which the owner or owners filed a federal personal income tax return, or if no such return is filed, the calendar year. Where title is vested in either the husband or wife, their combined income may not exceed such sum. Such income shall include social security and retirement benefits, interest, dividends, total gain from the sale or exchange of a capital asset in the same income tax year, net rental income, salary or earnings, and net income from employment, but shall not include a return of capital, gifts or inheritances. In computing net rental income from self-employment, no depreciation deduction shall be allowed for the exhaustion, wear and tear or real personal property held for the production of income.
(2) 
Unless the title of the property shall have been vested in the owner or one of the owners of the property for at least 24 consecutive months prior to the date of making application for exemption; provided, however, that in the event of the death of a husband or wife in whose name title of this property shall have been vested at the time of death and then becomes vested solely in the survivor by virtue of devise by or descent from deceased husband or wife, the time of ownership of the property by the deceased husband or wife, shall be deemed also a time of ownership by the survivor, and such ownership shall be deemed continuous for the purposes of computing such period of 24 consecutive months; provided further, that in the event of a transfer by either a husband or wife to the other spouse of all or part of the title to the property the time of ownership of the property by the transferor spouse shall be deemed also a time of ownership by the transferee spouse, and such ownership shall be deemed continuous for the purposes of computing such period of 24 consecutive months; and provided further that where property of the owner or owners has been acquired to replace property formerly owned by such owner or owners and taken by eminent or other involuntary proceeding, except a tax sale, the period of ownership of the former property shall be combined with the period of ownership of the property for which application is made for exemption and such periods of ownership shall be deemed to consecutive for purposes of the local law. Where a residence in the City of Hornell is sold and replaced with another within one year in the City of Hornell, the period of ownership of the former property shall be combined with the period of ownership of the replacement residence and deemed consecutive for exemption from taxation by the City of Hornell.
(3) 
Unless the property is used exclusively for residential purposes.
(4) 
Unless the real property is the legal residence of and is occupied in whole or in part by the owner or by all owners of the property.
B. 
No exemption will be granted in respect to an undivided of a portion of a single parcel.
Application for the exemption allowed by this article must be made by the owner, or all of the owners of the property, on forms prescribed by the State Board to be furnished by the appropriate assessing authority and shall furnish the information and be executed in the manner required or prescribed in such forms, and shall be filed in the Assessor's office on or before the appropriate taxable status due.
In addition to any other penalty provided by law, any conviction of having made any willful false statement in any application for real property exemption under this article shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $100 and shall disqualify the applicant or applicants from further exemption for a period of five years.
If any section, subsection, paragraph, clause, sentence or phrase of this article is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision, and such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion thereof.
This article shall take effect immediately but shall apply to any real property taxes levied by the City of Hornell for the year commencing April 1, 2005, and beyond.