Four Over Par

Four Over ParA State Supreme Court judge in Nassau County, more than a decade ago, upheld a property tax grievance filed by the owners of a golf course and thus set a precedent: Golf courses are assessed by the value of their self-reported profits, instead of their prodigious landholdings. It was a sunny day for the golf course owners; less so for the taxpayers of the Tuckahoe School District. Four prestigious and private golf clubs—the Sebonack Golf Club, National Golf Links of America, Southampton Golf Club and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club—cover a total of 951 acres, or about 12.7 percent of the entire Tuckahoe School District. Because of the tax formula devised by the Nassau County case, however, the four courses pay only about 5 percent of the district’s overall tax levy. That pushes up the share paid by every other property owner.

Under the current precedent, the courses are allowed to provide the town with their own calculations of the previous year’s earnings, based almost solely on pro shop and restaurant sales, but excluding membership fees—the bread and butter of most courses’ books, especially three extremely exclusive clubs in Tuckahoe.

Officials in the district have complained about being shortchanged for years, and have fought—and failed—to have the system changed. They have so far been unable to even win the opportunity to review the courses’ books to make sure they were honest in calculating what they owed. Those records escape public scrutiny, with Southampton Town officials claiming it would unfairly expose business practices.The answer may come in the form of legislation currently before the State Legislature. Sponsored by Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. and Senator Kenneth P. LaValle, the bill would give municipalities where land values are at a peak the opportunity to formulate a course’s assessment based on a property’s highest or best use. In the case of Tuckahoe, that would mean the course would be assessed based on what the land would be worth if it were developed residentially. It would mark a significant increase in taxes for the courses, and thus would seem to be a slam-dunk for Southampton Town, in an effort to curtail the tax burden on residents.Both the Noyac Golf Club and the Bridgehampton Golf Club have previously entered into conservation easements with the Peconic Land Trust, meaning that they have agreed not to develop their land residentially—similar to what some farming families have done to limit tax bills. If the new measure were to be approved, and Southampton changed its assessment calculation, their tax burdens would be significantly less than other courses. And there would be nothing stopping other courses—including those in Tuckahoe—from entering into similar agreements. Even if the courses’ tax burden eases again, some benefit has been won.

Golf courses seem to want it both ways: They want a tax break as if they were open space, but without any legal restrictions on future development. It’s a benefit that’s not even available to farmers, who typically must sell development rights in order to reduce their annual tax burden.

It’s time to reverse the inequity in Tuckahoe. The state law might not be a perfect solution, but at least it’s a step toward bringing the courses closer to being on par with their neighbors where taxes are concerned.