We’ve been reducing the property taxes of Long Island homeowners since 1990. That makes TRS the oldest firm in our field, and we have the newspaper articles to prove it.
Click the links below each article to download the full article as a printable PDF.
Assessing Your Home’s Value With Tax Reduction Services
Sag Harbor Express, April 19, 2017
According to New York State law, property taxes are supposed to be based on market value, which should be determined by assessors each year. But values change every year, and with affluent areas like those on the East End, it can be difficult to know if you’re paying too much.
Blazing The Tax Reduction Trail
The Independent, April 19, 2017
“…back in the 1980’s, nobody knew there was a grievance process. It was, (Paul) Henry said, ‘the best-kept secret in town hall’. Henry set about learning, then implementing, the process of grieving his own property taxes. He received a 25 percent reduction. Soon, friends and neighbors wanted in, and in 1990, Henry founded Tax Reduction Services. ”
Business Profile: Tax Reduction Services
Suffolk Times, April 13, 2017
“Tax Reduction Services, Inc. (TRS) is Long Island’s oldest and most experienced company of its kind. For over 25 years, TRS has helped tens of thousands of property owners save over a billion dollars on property taxes.”
Deadline to file property tax grievances in Suffolk County coming up May 17
Suffolk Times, May 9, 2016
“Tax Reduction Services in Greenport is one local company that prepares and files grievances for taxpayers. Its founder, Paul Henry, says his company has a 95-percent success rate. It works on a contingency fee basis — taxpayers pay the company a fee only if their grievance is successful — and will only take on grievances it believes will succeed.”
EYE ON REAL ESTATE, April 2, 2016
Host Dottie Herman interviews Paul Henry of TRS on her weekly radio show.
Click here for interview (19:50)
Lower Your Property Taxes Now: Here’s How to File a Winning Appeal.
Foxnews.com, July 6, 2015
“Assessed valuation is ultimately the key to a winning case, says Paul Henry, president and founder of Tax Reduction Services. Those assessments don’t necessarily rise and fall in tandem with property values. ”
Lower Your Property Taxes Now: Here’s How to File a Winning Appeal.
Realtor.com, July 6, 2015
“…TRS appealed to the Suffolk County Supreme Court, where they presented an appraisal disputing the town’s valuation. Based on that evidence, the court determined her assessment was 25% too high, which resulted in a whopping $1,900 off of a bill of $7,800 per year. ”
Think your property taxes are too high? Suffolk Times, May 14, 2015
“Generally speaking, a lot of people don’t have a good impression of what their house is worth,” said Paul Henry, who has owned Tax Reduction Services in Greenport since 1990. In 2014, he said, the company helped more than 10,000 clients in Suffolk and Nassau counties file grievances in an effort to reduce their bills.
How to Lower Your Property Taxes, Wall Steet Journal, August 20, 2011
Half of All Homeowners May Be Paying Too Much. Here’s What You Can Do About It
“We know all the ins and outs of the process,” says Paul Henry, a principal at Tax Reduction Services in Greenport, N.Y. “The process is cumbersome and riddled with paperwork that needs to be precise, so petitions are not thrown out.”
Real Estate: How to protest your taxes 101, The Suffolk Times, January 12, 2011
“Sarah Hallock, an associate with Tax Reduction Services in Greenport, which specializes in home assessment grievances, said that all property owners in New York State are eligible for a formal review of their properties’ assessments once a year.”
Property taxes too high? Get help: Bankrate.com, March 26, 2009
“Make sure the company or attorney who you choose is familiar with your county’s residential assessment appeals processes and make sure they are licensed if that’s required, says Mozer of Tax Reduction Services.
Before choosing a company, be sure to read all terms carefully and pay special attention to additional costs.”
The Taxman Cometh: Business Journal, May, 1997
“For the savvy homeowner, TRS cuts property taxes”, wrote reporter Regina Marcazzo of Business Journal. After describing Paul Henry’s successful battle to reduce his own property taxes by 40% over two years, Marcazzo notes that TRS has been successful in helping tens of thousands of other homeowners in both Nassau and Suffolk reduce their taxes by an average of $1,000 per year. “We’re very customer service oriented. We’ve built a loyal client base”, Henry said.
Fur Flies After Grievance Day, The News Review, June 1, 1995
Paul Henry’s Tax Reduction Services in Greenport is an example of one firm handling 5,000 grievances in Nassau and Suffolk counties. “Our job is to make sure that our clients get an equitable assessment,” said Mr. Henry. “Whenever something is unfair, it is in everyone’s interest to fix it and it should be welcomed at Town Hall as good government. Long Islanders pay some of the highest property taxes in the country as it is. They don’t need to be overcharged on top of that.”
Tax Grievance Services on Rise in Suffolk: New York Times, April 16, 1995
Legitimate practitioners are not opposed to the new law, said Paul Michael Henry, president of Tax Reduction Services, a company based in Greenport that has been doing tax grievance work since 1989. A trade group of which he is vice president, called Association of Assessment Consultants, participated in helping draft the legislation, he said.
Assessment Consultants Targeted: Newsday, June 30, 1994
Paul Henry, a founding member of the Association of Assessment Consultants Inc, on Long Island, a industry group, said his organization supports uniform standards for the industry, but opposes having fees regulated and says the lawmakers’ comments impugn their reputations.
Property Tax Fighters: Newsday, August 6, 1993
Almost twenty years ago, Newsday focused on Paul Henry’s “pioneering role” in the already rapidly-developing property tax reduction business. They quote a Nesconset woman for whom TRS obtained a 19% reduction: “I don’t think the average person can do this,” she said. “It’s very time-consuming and not worth the aggravation.”
Assessor Called Vindictive: Times Review, July 01, 1993
Last year, my company, Tax Reduction Services (TRS), applied for and received assesment reductions through the Suffolk County Supreme Court. These cases are being reviewed by the grievance board for the second year in a row because your assessor, Leroy Barnes, has bumped the assessments back up, in complete disregard to the SCAR decisions.
Southold Filers Up: Suffolk Life, May 26, 1993
Paul Henry of Tax Reduction Services (TRS), a Greenport company which represents property owners in assessment grievances, filed 26 grievances in Riverhead in 1993. The company filed 71 grievances last year in Riverhead. In Southold, 179 grievances made up the bulk of those filed in 1993. Henry said he filed some 1200 grievances in Nassau and Suffolk, with the most being on Fire Island. He said primarily his clients are residential property owners.
The Issue Was Copies: Times Review, May 20 1993
Mr. Henry, who owns Tax Reduction Services in Greenport, accused the Riverhead assessors of taking “it upon themselves to harass and intimidate not only myself, my company and my employees, but my customers as well.” Mr. Henry made his comments Tuesday afternoon before the Board of Assessment Review while the town‘s three elected assessors looked on pokerfaced.
Hired Gun Fighting Tax Challenges: News Review, April 1, 1993
Paul Henry hasn’t made too many friends in the assessors offices of Suffolk County. That’s not surprising, since Mr. Henry’s Tax Reduction Services of Greenport is in business to lower property tax assessments set by the towns.
Owners Fight Back: Newsday, March 27, 1993
In Suffolk, conferences are held between hearing officers and town assessors to settle cases and keep them out of court said Paul Michael Henry, President of Tax Reduction Services Inc. in Greenport, which represents property owners.
Aggrieved Taxpayers Have New Hope: East Hampton Star, June 4, 1992
East Hampton homeowners who challenge their assessments will have an advantage this year, thanks to a complaint filed with the state by a computer software designer who represents homeowners in property tax grievances. Paul Henry of Greenport convinced the state that a ratio used in assessment challenges to determine a property’s market value should be changed in the taxpayer’s favor.
Tax Quixote Shakes Town Hall: New York Times, May 29, 1992
Enter the tax-reduction consultants, usually appraisers like Mr. Hammer or computer experts, like Paul Henry of Greenport on the North Fork of Long Island, who for a percentage of the first year’s tax savings help homeowners work their way through complicated tax appeals.
Grievance Day Draws 262 Grievers: Suffolk Times, May 28, 1992
Mr. Henry noted that he expects great success in attaining reductions for his clients. “I’m delighted and very pleased that they’re going to be adjusting market values,” Mr. Henry said of the town assessors and Board of Assessment Review. “I feel there is a major transition in the position they’re taking on inequity. They used to assess on bricks and mortar, which is antiquated. Now, they are starting to consider appraisals and recent sales and adjust assessments accordingly.”
Grievance Process 2nd Round: Times Review, May 28, 1992
“From past experience, we don’t expect the Grievance Boards to give us the reductions we seek,” said Henry, adding that most will be determined in Small Claims Assessment Review courts. Henry contends that the Town of Southold changed its assessment practices this year, and for the first time is granting reductions based on market values. A number of downward adjustments were made in Southold during last day’s grievance hearings, said Henry.
Taxes, Assessments & Challenges: Traveler Watchman April 23, 1992
They describe themselves as crusaders for tax equity, working only to help those caught in the web of arcane state rates and ratios that determine taxable values. Not only can you fight Town Hall, they say, but you can win, and thus pay less.
Step by Step: Newsday, April 11, 1992
For persons who have owned their homes longer than one year, “an appraisal is the definitive value” said Paul Michael Henry, president of Tax Reduction Services Inc. of Greenport, which represents homeowners in challenges.
Reducing Taxes for LI Homeowners: LI Business News, February 24, 1992
Like a lot of people on LI, Paul Henry had a feeling he was paying too much in taxes on his Greenport home. Unlike a lot of people, he was in a position to really do something about it. A former research scientist and current independent computer consultant, Henry had both the skills and a plan to analyze and challenge his property taxes.
His Grievance Could Be Your Gain : The News-Review (Riverhead, NY), February 6, 1992
When The Riverhead News-Review ran a feature article on TRS president and founder Paul Henry in 1992, he had already been successfully lowering property taxes for almost two years. He was so successful in the Town of Riverhead that the town’s chief assessor had come to “cringe at the mention of Mr. Henry’s name.”
As Market Falters, Tax Grievances Rise: New York Times, July 14, 1991
…Paul Henry of Greenport, who uses graphs, statistics and charts to analyze whether recently sold houses are overassessed. He then contacts the owner and offers to file a grievance on the owner’s behalf for a contingency fee of 50 percent of the first year’s savings.