Cuomo announces tax relief measures for Sandy victims

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Tuesday the state will adopt a series of tax relief measures to help those who are still recovering from the effects of superstorm Sandy.

The measures are threefold:

1. Individuals filing late tax returns can now cite the superstorm as a reason for the delay and not face a penalty.

2. Businesses that come from out of state in order to help with the storm recovery effort will not be subject to New York State taxes. Typically, depending on the company's location and number of employees in New York, the business would have been subject to corporate and personal income taxes.

3. Employees at companies with a Leave Donation Program -- which allows workers to decline vacation and personal days and donate the pay to nonprofits involved in Sandy relief -- will not have to include the pay donated in their income tax statements.

For details about qualifications for the new tax exemptions, visit www.tax.ny.gov/bus/multi/sandy_relief.htm.