ATTENTION
Editors, Reporters, Photographers, Web Reporters 

Residents of Montgomery County this week will have three opportunities to register for their Basic STAR exemptions in person with New York State Tax Department officials.

You may wish to cover one of these meetings -- and give advance notice of the meetings -- since STAR experts will be on hand to answer questions and outline a registration process that affects 2.6 million homeowners across the state – 9,127 of them in Montgomery County alone. 

This week’s meeting schedule:
- County Board of Supervisors, 9/17, 6 pm, DSS/DMV Bldg, 64 Broadway, Fonda
- Amsterdam City Common Council, 9/17, 7pm, City Hall, 61 Church St., Amsterdam
- Amsterdam City School board, 9/18, 6 pm, Central Administration Bldg, 11 Liberty St., Amsterdam

Next week:
- Fonda-Fultonville Central School Bd., 9/23, 6:30 pm, 112 Old Johnson Rd., Fonda

The average homeowner saves $700 as a result of the Basic STAR exemption, which is available only on the primary residence of homeowners with incomes under $500,000. 

A Tax Department study last year found that thousands of property owners were receiving STAR exemptions on multiple properties.  The registration facilitates Governor Cuomo’s initiative to protect New Yorkers from fraud and waste in the STAR Program.   Senior citizens receiving the Enhanced STAR exemption are not impacted.

The deadline to register is December 31 in order to continue receiving the tax exemption in 2014 and thereafter.  The online registration at the Department’s Web site – www.tax.ny.gov – is quick and easy, and will take most homeowners less than five minutes.  Homeowners without Internet access can register by calling the Tax Department at 518-457-2036.

Find more information at the STAR Registration Media Center
http://www.tax.ny.gov/press/star_media.htm

CONTACT:
Press Office: 518-457-7377, Geoff Gloak, Spokesperson, geoffrey.gloak@tax.ny.gov