[Amended 6-26-1989 by L.L. No. 2-1989]
Real property in the Village of Maybrook owned
by one or more persons, each of whom is 65 years of age or over, or
real property owned by husband and wife, one of whom is 65 years of
age or over, shall be exempt from taxation by the Village of Maybrook,
to the extent established from time to time by resolution of the Board
of Trustees following public hearing, upon compliance with provisions of this article for the
fiscal year for which an application is filed.
No exemption shall be granted:
A. If the income of the owner or the combined income of the owners of the property for the income tax year immediately preceding the date of making application for exemption exceeds the sum established in the resolution referred to in §
179-18. "Income tax year" shall mean the twelve-month period for which the owner or owners filed a federal personal income tax return or, if no such return is filed, the calendar year. Where title is vested in either the husband or the wife, their combined income may not exceed such sum. Such income shall include social security and retirement benefits, interest, dividends, total gain from the sale or exchange of a capital asset which may be offset by a loss from the sale or exchange of a capital asset in the same income tax year, net rental income, salary or earnings and net income from self-employment but shall not include a return of capital, gifts or inheritances. In computing net rental income and net income from self-employment, no depreciation deduction shall be allowed for the exhaustion, wear and tear of real or personal property held for the production of income.
B. Unless the title of the property shall have been vested
in the owner or all of the owners of the property for at least 24
consecutive months prior to the date of making application for exemption.
(1) In the event of a transfer of all or part of the title
to the property between spouses, whether by deed, devise, bequest
or operation of law, the time of ownership shall be deemed continuous
for the purposes of computing the twenty-four-consecutive-month period
and provided further that, where property of the owner or owners has
been acquired to replace property formerly owned by such owner or
owners and taken by eminent domain or other involuntary proceeding,
except a tax sale, the period of ownership of the former property
shall be combined with the period of ownership of the property for
which application is made for exemption, and such periods of ownership
shall be deemed to be consecutive for purposes of this section.
(2) Where a residence is sold and replaced with another
within one year and both residences are within the state, the period
of ownership of both properties shall be deemed consecutive for purposes
of the exemption from taxation by the Village of Maybrook.
C. Unless the property is used exclusively for residential
purposes.
D. Unless the real property is the legal residence of
and is occupied, in whole or in part, by the owner or by all of the
owners of the property.
Application for such exemption must be made
by the owner or all of the owners of the property on forms to be furnished
by the Assessor's office. The annual application shall furnish the
information and be executed in the manner required or prescribed in
such forms and shall be filed in such Assessor's office on or before
January 1 of each year.
Any conviction of having made any willful false
statement in the application for such exemption shall be punishable
by a fine of not more than $250 and shall disqualify the applicant
or applicants from further exemption for a period of five years.
Applications must be filed annually for such
exemption on forms provided by the Village.