485-F - Banking development districts.

§  485-f.    Banking  development districts. 1. Real property altered,  constructed, installed, or improved for use as a branch of a bank, trust  company or national bank in an area designated as a banking  development  district by the superintendent of banks pursuant to section ninety-six-d  of  the banking law shall be exempt from taxation and special ad valorem  levies by any municipal corporation in which located, for  a  period  of  ten   years,  provided  that  the  governing  board  of  such  municipal  corporation, after a public hearing, adopts a local law,  ordinance,  or  resolution providing therefor.    2.  Where  such  local law, ordinance, or resolution has been adopted,  such real property which is used to establish a branch of a bank,  trust  company  or  national  bank  in  a banking development district shall be  exempt for a period of one year of fifty per centum  of  the  "exemption  base",  determined  pursuant  to subdivision three of this section,  and  such exemption shall be decreased by five per centum  each  year  during  such  additional  period.  A  copy  of  such  local  law,  ordinance, or  resolution shall be filed with the state board and the assessor of  such  county, city, town, or village who prepares the assessment roll on which  the  taxes  of  such county, city, town, village, or school district are  levied.    3. (a) The "exemption base" shall be the extent  of  the  increase  in  assessed   value   attributable   to   such   alteration,  construction,  installation, or improvement as determined in the initial year for which  application for exemption is made pursuant to this  section,  except  as  provided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph.    (i)  If there is subsequent alteration, construction, installation, or  improvement during the term of the exemption, the exemption  base  shall  be  revised  to  include  the increase in assessed value attributable to  such alteration, construction, installation, or improvement.    (ii) If in any year a change in level of assessment of fifteen percent  or more is certified for an assessment roll pursuant to the rules of the  state board, the exemption base shall be  adjusted  by  such  change  in  level  or  assessment.  The  exemption  on  that  assessment  roll shall  thereupon be recomputed, notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  assessor  receives  the  certification  after  the  completion,  verification, and  filing of the final assessment roll. In the event that the assessor does  not have custody of the roll when such certification  is  received,  the  assessor  shall  certify  the recomputed exemption to the local officers  having custody and control of the  roll  and  such  local  officers  are  hereby  directed  and  authorized  to  enter  the  recomputed  exemption  certified by the assessor on the roll. The assessor shall  give  written  notice  of  such recomputed exemption to the property owner, who may, if  he or she believes that the exemption was recomputed incorrectly,  apply  for  a  correction in the manner provided by title three of article five  of this chapter for the correction of clerical errors.    (iii) The following table shall illustrate the computation of the  tax  exemption:         Year of exemption          Percentage of exemption             1                                50             2                                45             3                                40             4                                35             5                                30             6                                25             7                                20             8                                15             9                                1010                               5    (b) No exemption shall be granted pursuant to this section, unless:    (i)   the   alteration,  construction,  installation,  or  improvement  commenced on or after either the date the banking  development  district  was  designated  by  the  superintendent  of  banks  pursuant to section  ninety-six-d  of  the  banking  law  or,  if  specified  in  local  law,  ordinance,  or  resolution  adopted  pursuant to subdivision one of this  section, the effective date of such local law, resolution or  ordinance;  and    (ii)  the  property  is  located  in  a  banking  development district  designated  by  the  superintendent  of  banks   pursuant   to   section  ninety-six-d of the banking law.    (c)  For  purposes of this section the terms alteration, construction,  installation or improvement shall not include ordinary  maintenance  and  repairs.    4.  Such  exemption  shall be granted only upon written application of  the owner of such real property on a form prescribed by the state board.  The application shall be filed with the assessor of  the  county,  city,  town,  or village having the power to assess property for taxation on or  before the appropriate taxable status date of such county,  city,  town,  or village. Such application shall be filed on or before the appropriate  taxable  status  date  of such assessing unit and no later than one year  from  the  date  of  completion  of   such   alteration,   construction,  installation, or improvement.    5.  If  the  assessor receives an application by the owner of the real  property and is satisfied that the applicant is entitled to an exemption  pursuant to this section, the assessor shall approve the application and  such real property shall thereafter be exempt from taxation and  special  ad  valorem  levies  as  herein provided, commencing with the assessment  roll prepared after the taxable status date referred to  in  subdivision  four  of  this  section.  The  assessed  value  of any exemption granted  pursuant to this section  shall  be  entered  by  the  assessor  on  the  assessment  roll  with  the  taxable  property,  with  the amount of the  exemption entered in a separate column.