Mineola, New York – On Yesterday's News 12 "Power and Politics", when asked about multi-million-dollar Nassau County mansions paying Zero in property taxes, A spokesperson for County Executive Curran said "Clearly the Taxpayer Protection Program, unanimously passed by the County Legislature was never meant to eliminate property taxes and we will look to correct the law if needed." (See screenshot above.). The vote was not “unanimous” with Legislators Rhoads and Ferretti Abstaining.
Last week, Nassau Legislature Presiding Officer Rich Nicolello demanded answers from County Executive Laura Curran for a collection of mansions in the County, whose owners have been billed “ZERO” in property taxes for the 2020/2021 tax year under her Administration’s signature reassessment project. Nicolello, joined by members of the Majority Legislative Delegation, expressed outrage at the inequity of uber-wealthy homeowners paying ZERO property taxes on their multi-million-dollar estates.
One home on display in Point Lookout was the subject of $31,018 in taxes for the 2019/2020 tax year, but in the first tax year under the County Executive’s reassessment, the home’s owner is now slated to pay NO PROPERTY TAXES in the 2020/2021 tax year. The home has an assessed value of $4,012000. A waterfront estate in Kings Point, which is valued at $3,757,000, featured taxes of over $21,000 in the year before the County Executive’s reassessment kicked in but is now the subject of ZERO property taxes in the first tax year under the new reassessment. A Lattingtown home with a value of $2,595,000 boasted a tax bill of more than $26,000 prior to reassessment; however, its owner will now pay NO PROPERTY TAXES at all! The owner of a home in the exclusive community of Centre Island that is valued at $3,785,000 will also pay NO PROPERTY TAXES for the 2020/2021 tax year. Finally, the owner of an Atlantic Beach home who was billed $24,366 for the 2019/2020 tax year will enjoy a TAX-FREE year for the 2020/2021 year.
“The Majority has identified examples of gross inequities in which mansions are vastly undertaxed, some of which pay zero in property taxes,” Presiding Officer Richard Nicolello said. “Other properties of the very wealthy have seen tax savings in the tens of thousands of dollars. We have also identified identical homes sitting side by side with vastly different tax bills. We are demanding that the County Executive perform a comprehensive review to identify all the inequities and to fix the problem. Nassau residents deserve better.”
Nicolello and his Majority Delegation pointed out what they consider other startling inequities that have resulted from the County Executive’s reassessment. The officials pointed out a breathtaking mansion in Hewlett Harbor that was the subject of almost $93,000 in property taxes before the County Executive’s reassessment. The massive home’s owner will pay only $18,310 in the first tax year of the Nassau Administration’s reassessment. That is almost an 80% tax reduction. Another Kings Point manse valued at over $25 million will see its taxes reduced from a pre-reassessment tax bite of $145,512 to a paltry $24,830. Finally, a Sands Point estate will witness its owner paying only $1,224 in taxes under the County Executive’s reassessment. Prior to the Administration’s error-riddled reassessment, the house’s owner remitted $88,727 in property taxes last year.
“This is disgraceful, and it points out what the Republican Majority of the Legislature has been saying all along,” stated Legislator Bill Gaylor. “The Nassau County Executive’s reassessment is patently unfair and is a back-door tax increase for the hard-working homeowners. Now, middle class property owners are picking up the tab for super wealthy homeowners who are paying no property taxes on their mansions because of Laura Curran’s reassessment. Taxpayers need and deserve answers.”