Tax crackdown yields city $72M

The city is rolling in dough, thanks in part to a recent crackdown on tax cheats.

The Department of Finance has saved $ 72.8 million over the past two years by tightening the reins on generous but often erroneous property- tax exemptions, according to data obtained by The Post.

The biggest windfall came from nonprofits, which have been the focus of a department crackdown in recent years.

The agency reported saving nearly $ 31 million between Fiscal Year 2012 and the current fiscal year, 2014, by registering 1,000 fewer nonprofits for the tax breaks, the data show.

In the current fiscal year, 15,053 such charities were registered with the city, down from 16,057 in FY 2012 and 15,188 in FY 2013.

Finance Commissioner David Frankel

That resulted in a $ 10.7 million savings to the city last fiscal year with another expected $ 19.9 million savings this year, the statistics show.

Two years ago, the department began double-checking entities claiming nonprofit status to avoid property taxes and found many that had no longer been registered as tax-exempt charities — but continued to get the perk.

In addition, the department has saved cash by instituting far more stringent measures on personal property-tax exemptions, such as those for seniors, veterans and disabled homeowners.

The Post disclosed in 2011 that the agency was giving away the freebies without verifying a homeowner’s status.

Since then the department has required military discharge papers for veterans and a Social Security disability form from anyone applying for that exemption.

Some 47,255 homeowners are collecting the senior-citizen exemption this year, down from 52,104 two years ago, the data show.

That translates into a savings of $ 13.3 million.

The exemptions vary in amount, depending on the taxes paid.

“We have a duty to protect those who do the right thing,” said Finance Commissioner David Frankel. “Our goal is to make sure that exemptions are going to New Yorkers who qualify, and not to those who do not.”

The veterans’ exemption is also on the decline — from 64,024 recipients in FY 2012 to 53,545 in FY 2013 and 52,969 in FY 2014.

But a department official speculated the reduction is due in part to older veterans dying. Only the number of disabled homeowners collecting a tax exemption is on the rise, from 4,896 in FY 2012 to 5,227 in FY 2014. That’s an increase of about $ 1 million in exemptions over the past two years.

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