Same Old Same Old Department of Finance

The city’s Department of Finance (DOF) may have rolled out a new zillion-dollar computer, but the agency is still its same old inefficient self. A year after Comptroller Scott Stringer identified 1,509 businesses that were improperly enjoying property tax breaks intended for homeowners, the DOF is still letting more than half of them keep those benefits, according to a new audit reported in the New York Post.

In his recent review of the School Tax Relief (STAR) and Enhanced School Tax Relief (ESTAR) programs, Stringer found that 815 ineligible properties cited a year ago were still pulling in $713,454 in “improper tax breaks.”

Homeowners are eligible for both tax breaks on their primary residence, but the corporations and shell companies that continue to collect the tax breaks are not.

“One audit should have been enough for the Department of Finance to end the practice of giving away tax exemptions to ineligible corporations,” Stringer said. “The city must redouble its efforts to ensure these tax breaks only go to those who deserve them.”

The DOF has promised to do just that, saying it is “in the process of completing its outstanding review” of ineligible properties. Those waiting for the DOF to take action are advised not to hold their breath.