Government Briefs 02.18.16
New York State
Push for Conservation Tax Break
Nonprofit groups buying land for environmental, conservation, or historic preservation purposes could save money if state legislation proposed by Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. is approved.
The legislation before the State Assembly would exempt real estate deals for open space, parks, or historic preservation from state real estate transfer taxes. The state imposes a general transfer tax of $2 per each $500 of the purchase price, as well as a 1-percent additional tax on sales over $1 million. Those taxes, Mr. Thiele said in a press release, “operate as a penalty to conservation.” The state, he said, has a $300 million environmental protection fund for land preservation and to assist local land trusts, and “tax policy should be consistent with environmental policy.”
Nonprofits are already exempt from the 2-percent real estate transfer tax imposed in the five East End towns to raise money for the Peconic Bay Region Community Preservation Fund.
Water Quality Protection Grants
State grants are available to farmers for water quality protection projects, Mr. Thiele recently announced. A total of $11 million has been allocated to protect soil and water resources through the Agricultural Nonpoint Source Abatement and Control Program. Grants will be awarded to county soil and water conservation districts for environmental planning or to implement best management practices such as waste storage systems, riparian buffer systems, and conservation cover crops. The county districts must apply by April 1.
Paid Family Leave Enacted
The State Assembly has passed legislation that would provide paid family leave for workers in New York. While federal law provides for unpaid leave of up to 12 weeks for workers with newborns, or to care for family members, protecting the workers’ job status, it does not provide for payment during that leave. The New York legislation would require private employers to provide paid family leave, and workers would contribute up to 45 cents per week to a fund for that policy, to cover up to two-thirds of a worker’s salary.
“It’s time we put families first and make sure that all workers have access to paid family leave — it is the fair and right thing to do,” Mr. Thiele said in a release. “The increase in worker satisfaction and employee retention will also help businesses. In this era of extreme inequality, our efforts must be laser-focused on helping hard-working New Yorkers get ahead.”