Rhode Island 2023 Regular Session

Rhode Island Senate Bill S0928 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
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5		-	2023 -- S 0928 SUBSTITUTE A ~~AS AMENDED~~
	5	+	2023 -- S 0928 SUBSTITUTE A
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7	7		LC002716/SUB A
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9	9		S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
10	10		IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11		JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
12	12		____________
13	13
14	14		A N A C T
15	15		RELATING TO TAXATION -- STATEWIDE TANGIBLE PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIO N
16	16		Introduced By: Senators Murray, Ruggerio, Valverde, DiPalma, DiMario, Picard, Felag,
17	17		Euer, Lauria, and Miller
18	18		Date Introduced: April 10, 2023
19	19		Referred To: Senate Finance
20	20
21	21
22	22		It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
23	23		SECTION 1. Title 44 of the General Laws entitled "TAXATION" is hereby amended by 1
24	24		adding thereto the following chapter: 2
25	25		CHAPTER 5.3 3
26	26		STATEWIDE TANGIBLE PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION 4
27	27		44-5.3-1. Municipal tangible property tax exemption. 5
28	28		(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 5 of this title or any other provisions of law 6
29	29		to the contrary, in an effort to provide relief for businesses, including small businesses, and to 7
30	30		promote economic development, a city, town, or fire district shall provide each tangible property 8
31	31		taxpayer on the aggregate amount of all ratable, tangible personal property not otherwise exempt 9
32		-	from taxation an exemption from taxation of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) ~~applicable to the~~ 10
33		-	assessment date of December 31, 2023 and ~~for~~ each ~~assessment date~~ thereafter. All ~~ratable,~~ 11
34		-	tangible, personal property valued above fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) remains subject to 12
35		-	taxation. 13
	32	+	from taxation exemption from taxation of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for its fiscal year 10
	33	+	applicable to the assessment date of December 31, 2023 and in each fiscal year thereafter. All 11
	34	+	ratable, tangible, personal property valued above fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) remains subject 12
	35	+	to taxation. 13
36	36		(b) Individual personal exemptions granted to tangible property taxpayers in any city, town, 14
37	37		or fire district at the time of the effective date of this chapter shall be applied to assessed values 15
38	38		prior to applying the statewide exemption provided in this section in order that any lost revenue to 16
39	39		be reimbursed pursuant to this chapter for each respective city, town, or fire district shall not include 17
40	40		revenue loss resulting from these individual personal exemptions. 18
41	41		(c) Exemptions existing and uniformly applied to all tangible property taxpayers in any 19
42	42
43	43
44	44		LC002716/SUB A - Page 2 of 5
45	45		city, town, or fire district at the time of the effective date of this chapter shall be disregarded in 1
46	46		order that any lost revenue to be reimbursed pursuant to this chapter for each respective city, town, 2
47	47		or fire district shall include revenue loss resulting from such pre-existing uniform exemptions. 3
48	48		44-5.3-2. Reimbursement of lost tax revenue. 4
49	49		(a) Beginning in fiscal year 2025 and for each fiscal year thereafter, cities, towns, and fire 5
50	50		districts shall receive reimbursements, as set forth in this section, from state general revenues for 6
51	51		lost tax revenues due to the reduction of the tangible property tax resulting from the statewide 7
52	52		exemption set forth in § 44-5.3-1. 8
53	53		(b) Beginning in fiscal year 2025, and for each fiscal year thereafter, cities, towns, and fire 9
54	54		districts shall receive a reimbursement equal to the tangible property levy for the assessment date 10
55	55		of December 31, 2022, minus the tangible personal property levy for the assessment date of 11
56	56		December 31, 2023. 12
57	57		(c) Reimbursements shall be distributed in full to cities, towns, and fire districts on 13
58	58		September 30, 2024 and every September 30 thereafter; provided, however, that reimbursement 14
59	59		shall not be provided to any city, town, or fire district in any year in which it has failed to provide 15
60	60		to the division of municipal finance its certified tax roll in accordance with § 44-5-22 or any other 16
61	61		information required by the division of municipal finance to calculate the reimbursement amount. 17
62	62		44-5.3-3. Tangible property tax rate cap. 18
63	63		(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the tax rate for the class of 19
64	64		property that includes tangible personal property for any city, town, or fire district shall be capped 20
65	65		and shall not exceed thereafter the tax rate in effect for the assessment date of December 31, 2022. 21
66	66		(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, for assessment dates on and 22
67	67		after December 31, 2023, any city, town, or fire district shall be permitted to tax all other classes 23
68		-	of property, ~~or where no classification has been enacted all other types~~ of property, at a different 24
69		-	~~tax rate than the tax rate for tangible~~ personal property required by subsection (a) of this section. 25
	68	+	of property, exclusive of class 4 property, at a different tax rate than the tax rate for tangible 24
	69	+	personal property required by subsection (a) of this section (motor vehicles and trailers). 25
70	70		44-5.3-4. Removal of certain limitations and requirements. 26
71	71		For assessment dates on or after December 31, 2023, tangible tax rates shall be disregarded 27
72	72		for purposes of compliance with limitations on the extent to which the effective tax rate of one class 28
73	73		of property may exceed that of another, or requirements that the same percentage rate change be 29
74	74		applied across property classes from one year to the next, under § 44-5-11.8 or any other similar 30
75	75		statutory provision applicable to a city, town, or fire district. 31
76	76		44-5.3-5. Application. 32
77	77		The statewide exemption set forth in this chapter shall not apply to: 33
78		-	(1) Public service corporation tangible property subject to taxation pursuant to § 44-13-13; 34
	78	+	(1) Public service corporation tangible property subject to taxation pursuant to § 44-13-1; 34
79	79
80	80
81	81		LC002716/SUB A - Page 3 of 5
82	82		and 1
83	83		(2) Renewable energy resources and associated equipment subject to taxation pursuant to 2
84	84		§ 44-5-3(c). 3
85	85		SECTION 2. Section 45-13-14 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-13 entitled "State Aid" 4
86	86		is hereby amended to read as follows: 5
87	87		45-13-14. Adjustments to tax levy, assessed value, and full value when computing state 6
88	88		aid. 7
89	89		(a) Whenever the director of revenue computes the relative wealth of municipalities for the 8
90	90		purpose of distributing state aid in accordance with title 16 and the provisions of § 45-13-12, he or 9
91	91		she shall base it on the full value of all property except: 10
92	92		(1) That exempted from taxation by acts of the general assembly and reimbursed under § 11
93	93		45-13-5.1, which shall have its value calculated as if the payment in lieu of tax revenues received 12
94	94		pursuant to § 45-13-5.1, has resulted from a tax levy; 13
95	95		(2) That whose tax levy or assessed value is based on a tax treaty agreement authorized by 14
96	96		a special public law or by reason of agreements between a municipality and the economic 15
97	97		development corporation in accordance with § 42-64-20 prior to May 15, 2005, which shall not 16
98	98		have its value included; 17
99	99		(3) That whose tax levy or assessed value is based on tax treaty agreements or tax 18
100	100		stabilization agreements in force prior to May 15, 2005, which shall not have its value included; 19
101	101		(4) That which is subject to a payment in lieu of tax agreement in force prior to May 15, 20
102	102		2005; 21
103	103		(5) Any other property exempt from taxation under state law; 22
104	104		(6) Any property subject to chapter 27 of title 44, taxation of Farm, Forest, and Open Space 23
105	105		Land; or 24
106	106		(7) Any property exempt from taxation, in whole or in part, under the provisions of 25
107	107		subsections (a)(51), (a)(66), or (c) of § 44-3-3, § 44-3-47, § 44-3-65, § 44-5.3-1, or any other 26
108	108		provision of law that enables a city, town, or fire district to establish a tangible personal property 27
109	109		exemption, which shall have its value calculated as the full value of the property minus the 28
110	110		exemption amount. 29
111	111		(b) The tax levy of each municipality and fire district shall be adjusted for any real estate 30
112	112		and personal property exempt from taxation by act of the general assembly by the amount of 31
113	113		payment in lieu of property tax revenue anticipated to be received pursuant to § 45-13-5.1 relating 32
114	114		to property tax from certain exempt private and state properties, and for any property subject to any 33
115	115		payment in lieu of tax agreements, any tax treaty agreements or tax stabilization agreements in 34
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117	117
118	118		LC002716/SUB A - Page 4 of 5
119	119		force after May 15, 2005, by the amount of the payment in lieu of taxes pursuant to such 1
120	120		agreements. 2
121	121		(c) Fire district tax levies within a city or town shall be included as part of the total levy 3
122	122		attributable to that city or town. 4
123	123		(d) The changes as required by subsections (a) through (c) of this section shall be 5
124	124		incorporated into the computation of entitlements effective for distribution in fiscal year 2007-2008 6
125	125		and thereafter. 7
126	126		SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. 8
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128	128		LC002716/SUB A
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131	131
132	132		LC002716/SUB A - Page 5 of 5
133	133		EXPLANATION
134	134		BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
135	135		OF
136	136		A N A C T
137	137		RELATING TO TAXATION -- STATEWIDE TANGIBLE PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIO N
138	138		***
139	139		This act would create a tax exemption of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) relating to 1
140	140		assessment of municipal tangible property commencing with the December 31, 2023, tax 2
141	141		assessment for taxes payable in calendar year 2024. The act would also provide for reimbursement 3
142	142		of the tax revenue lost by the municipalities and establish a tangible property tax rate cap. 4
143	143		This act would take effect upon passage. 5
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145	145		LC002716/SUB A
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