Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H3826 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4173 FILED ON: 2/21/2023
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3826
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	James C. Arena-DeRosa
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act authorizing the town of Holliston to establish a means-tested senior citizen property tax
13	13	exemption.
14	14	_______________
15	15	PETITION OF:
16	16	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:James C. Arena-DeRosa8th Middlesex2/21/2023 1 of 3
17	17	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4173 FILED ON: 2/21/2023
18	18	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3826
19	19	By Representative Arena-DeRosa of Holliston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
20	20	3826) of James C. Arena-DeRosa (by vote of the town) that the town of Holliston be authorized
21	21	to establish a means-tested senior citizen property tax exemption in said town. Revenue. [Local
22	22	Approval Received.]
23	23	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
24	24	_______________
25	25	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
26	26	(2023-2024)
27	27	_______________
28	28	An Act authorizing the town of Holliston to establish a means-tested senior citizen property tax
29	29	exemption.
30	30	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
31	31	of the same, as follows:
32	32	1 SECTION 1. With respect to each qualifying parcel of real property classified as class
33	33	2one, residential in the Town of Holliston, there shall be an exemption from the property tax in an
34	34	3amount to be set annually by the Select Board as provided in Section 3. The exemption shall be
35	35	4applied to the domicile of the taxpayer only. For the purposes of this act, “parcel” shall mean a
36	36	5unit of real property as defined by the Board of Assessors under the deed for the property and
37	37	6shall include a condominium unit. The exemption provided for in this section shall be in addition
38	38	7to any other exemptions allowed pursuant to the General Laws.
39	39	8 SECTION 2. The Board of Assessors of the Town of Holliston may deny an application
40	40	9for exemption if the board finds that the applicant has excessive assets that place the applicant
41	41	10outside of the intended recipients of the senior exemption established pursuant to this act. Real
42	42	11property shall qualify for the exemption pursuant to Section 1 if the following criteria are met: 2 of 3
43	43	12 (i) the qualifying real property is owned and occupied by a person whose prior year’s
44	44	13income would make the person eligible for the circuit breaker income tax credit pursuant to
45	45	14subsection (k) of Section 6 of Chapter 62 of the General Laws;
46	46	15 (ii) the qualifying real property is owned by a single applicant who was age 65 or older at
47	47	16the close of the previous year or jointly by persons who are 60 years of age or older, provided
48	48	17that not less than 1 joint owner was age 65 or older at the close of the previous year;
49	49	18 (iii) the qualifying real property is owned and occupied by the applicant or joint
50	50	19applicants as their domicile;
51	51	20 (iv) the applicant, or at least 1 of the joint applicants, has been domiciled and owned a
52	52	21home in the Town of Holliston for not less than 10 consecutive years before filing an application
53	53	22for the exemption;
54	54	23 (v) the maximum assessed value of the domicile is not greater than the prior year’s
55	55	24maximum assessed value for qualification for the circuit breaker income tax credit pursuant to
56	56	25subsection (k) of Section 6 of Chapter 62 of the General Laws, as adjusted annually by the
57	57	26Department of Revenue; and
58	58	27 (vi) the Board of Assessors has approved the application for the exemption.
59	59	28 SECTION 3. The Select Board of the Town of Holliston shall annually set the exemption
60	60	29amount provided for in Section 1; provided, however, that the amount of the exemption shall be
61	61	30not less
62	62	31 than 50 per cent and not more than 200 per cent of the amount of the circuit breaker
63	63	32income tax credit pursuant to subsection (k) of Section 6 of Chapter 62 of the General Laws for 3 of 3
64	64	33which the applicant qualified in the previous year. The total amount exempted by this act shall be
65	65	34allocated proportionally within the tax levy on all residential taxpayers.
66	66	35 SECTION 4. A person who seeks to qualify for the exemption pursuant to Section 1
67	67	36shall, before the deadline established by the Board of Assessors of the town of Holliston, file an
68	68	37application, on a form adopted by the Board of Assessors, with the supporting documentation of
69	69	38the applicant’s income and assets as described in the application. The application shall be filed
70	70	39each year for which the applicant seeks the exemption.
71	71	40 SECTION 5. No exemption shall be granted pursuant to this act until the Department of
72	72	41Revenue certifies a residential tax rate for the applicable tax year where the total exemption
73	73	42amount is raised by a burden shift within the residential tax levy.
74	74	43 SECTION 6. The exemption provided in this act shall expire 3 years after the effective
75	75	44date of this act; provided, however, that the Town of Holliston may reauthorize the exemption
76	76	45for additional 3-year intervals by a vote of the legislative body of the town.
77	77	46 SECTION 7. This act shall take effect upon its passage.