There have been virtually no real estate tax refunds from Nassau County for the past two years. The refunds are due to residential and commercial taxpayers from Nassau County. The taxpayers successfully challenged their real estate tax assessments in tax certiorari proceedings. In some cases, the Assessment Review Commission (ARC) agreed to the over-assessments, while other proceedings were decided by hearing officers at Small Claims Assessment Review (SCAR) hearings. Any proceedings that could not be settled administratively were negotiated and settled with the Nassau County Attorney’s office. A relatively few number of cases went to trial and judgments were handed down by the Supreme Court demanding refunds. It has been estimated that almost $400 million in refunds with interest have accumulated as a debt still to be paid.
On June 24, 2013, the Nassau County Legislature will once again have on its agenda a bond proposal to create a fund for infrastructure repair due to Hurricane Sandy and to pay the tax refunds. Here’s hoping a tax certiorari refund program can be agreed to in a non-partisan way.
