School Board passes Veterans exemption

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The East Meadow School District’s Board of Education on March 6 unanimously approved the veterans’ tax exemption, which will provide tax relief to veterans who live in the community.

Veterans living in New York have been eligible for state, county, town and village tax exemptions for some time, but in December the State Legislature passed a law giving school boards the option to offer an exemption as well.

Now the assessed value of veterans’ homes will be reduced thanks to the exemption, which means they will pay less in school taxes.

The exemption can go into effect as soon as the 2014-15 school year, but veterans who are interested in applying for it must contact the Nassau County Department of Assessment to receive it, according to East Meadow Superintendent Louis DeAngelo.

The exemption has three categories, each with its own range by which the assessed value of a home is reduced: wartime veteran in a non-combat zone (up to $12,000), wartime veteran in a combat zone (up to $20,000) and a wartime veteran in a combat zone who now has a disability (up to $60,000).

There are 1,445 veterans in the East Meadow School District. If every eligible veteran took the exemption, DeAngelo said, the average non-veteran’s school taxes would increase by $35 per year. “For all that our veterans have done for our country, our East Meadow Board of Education is pleased to approve this school tax exemption,” he said.

Larry Fitzsimmons, the commander of East Meadow’s American Legion Post 1082, voiced his support for the exemption. “I think it’s great,” he said. “Anything that will help, as far as school taxes. It’s one of the bigger taxes we have.”