NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10813
SPONSOR: Blumencranz TITLE OF BILL:
An act authorizing the county of Nassau assessor to accept an applica-
tion for a real property tax exemption from the Consulate General of El
Salvador
PURPOSE:
To authorize the Nassau County assessor to accept a late-filed applica-
tion for a real property tax exemption for the Consulate General of El
Salvador for the 2025 assessment roll and to permit the correction of
tax rolls, including the cancellation and/or refund of taxes, liens,
penalties, and interest, where appropriate.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill authorizes the Nassau County assessor, notwith-
standing any other provision of law, to accept from the Consulate Gener-
al of El Salvador an application for a real property tax exemption
pursuant to section 418 of the real property tax law for the 2025
assessment roll, including applicable portions of the 2024-2025 school
taxes and 2025 general taxes for the property located at 111 Express
Street, Plainview, New York.
The bill further provides that, if accepted, the application shall be
reviewed as if it had been timely filed on or before the applicable
taxable status date. Upon determination that the Consulate would other-
wise qualify for the exemption, and subject to approval by the Nassau
County Legislature, the assessor is authorized to correct the tax rolls.
The bill also permits the appropriate governing body or tax department
to refund any taxes paid and cancel any outstanding taxes, fines, penal-
ties, liens, or interest associated with the subject property.
Section two provides that the act shall take effect immediately.
JUSTIFICATION:
This legislation addresses a narrow but important circumstance involving
the Consulate General of El Salvador, a foreign governmental entity that
purchased property located at 111 Express Street in Plainview, Nassau
County, on March 11, 2025, for official consular use.
While the Consulate has appropriately secured a real property tax
exemption for the 2026 tax year and thereafter, the timing of the acqui-
sition and application resulted in the property being subject to taxa-
tion for the 2025 assessment roll, generating a liability of approxi-
mately $70,438.
New York State has a longstanding policy, rooted in principles of comity
and international practice, of affording tax-exempt status to property
owned and used exclusively by foreign governments for official diplomat-
ic and consular purposes. The Consulate General of El Salvador's use of
the property clearly aligns with these principles and would have quali-
fied for exemption had the application been timely filed.
This bill provides a narrowly tailored remedy to correct what is effec-
tively a timing issue, ensuring that a foreign sovereign entity is not
penalized due to the administrative realities of property acquisition
and exemption filing deadlines.
Additionally, this legislation promotes fairness, preserves interna-
tional goodwill, and aligns local tax administration with established
state policy regarding foreign government property.
Importantly, the bill does not mandate the granting of the exemption;
rather, it authorizes the Nassau County assessor to accept and review
the application on its merits and, if appropriate, to correct the tax
rolls with the approval of the Nassau County Legislature.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Minimal.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10813
IN ASSEMBLY
April 1, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BLUMENCRANZ -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Real Property Taxation
AN ACT authorizing the county of Nassau assessor to accept an applica-
tion for a real property tax exemption from the Consulate General of
El Salvador
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
2 the assessor of the county of Nassau is hereby authorized to accept from
3 the Consulate General of El Salvador an application for exemption from
4 real property taxes pursuant to section 418 of the real property tax law
5 with respect to the 2025 assessment roll for a portion of the 2024-2025
6 school taxes and a portion of the 2025 general taxes for the parcel
7 conveyed to such organization located at 111 Express Street, hamlet of
8 Plainview, town of Oyster Bay, county of Nassau, otherwise known as
9 Nassau county parcel ID section 13, block 83, lot 84. If accepted, the
10 application shall be reviewed as if it had been received on or before
11 the taxable status date established for such roll.
12 If satisfied that such organization would otherwise be entitled to
13 such exemption if such organization had filed an application for
14 exemption by the appropriate taxable status date, the assessor, upon
15 approval by the Nassau county legislature, may make appropriate
16 correction to the subject rolls. If such exemption is granted and such
17 organization, therefore, shall have paid any tax with respect to the
18 subject rolls, the applicable governing body or tax department may, in
19 its sole discretion, provide for the refund of those taxes paid and
20 cancel those taxes, fines, penalties, liens or interest remaining
21 unpaid.
22 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15352-01-6
