Town of Clinton, CT Article VIII Tax Relief for Elderly and Disabled Persons

[Adopted 4-3-2013[1]]

[1] Editor’s Note: This ordinance also superseded former Art. VIII, Tax Relief for Elderly and Disabled Persons, adopted 1-23-2002, as amended.

§ 465-20 Adoption of statute; qualifications.

The Town of Clinton hereby adopts the provisions of C.G.S. § 12-129n, as amended, providing certain tax relief for the elderly and disabled in accordance with the terms of said statute and in accordance with the following recommendations as approved by the Board of Finance, commencing with the October 1, 2001, Grand List. Qualifications for property tax relief provided by this article shall be as follows:

A. An applicant or his/her spouse must own the property for which tax relief is sought and has been a homeowner of the Town of Clinton as of the date of application for a period of not less than one year, and does not owe any delinquent taxes to the Town other than those allowed by law under the Town's Tax Deferral Program;

B. Be 65 years of age or over by December 31 of the year preceding application, or whose spouse, living with him/her is 65 years or over, or 60 years and the surviving spouse of a taxpayer who has qualified under this section at the time of his/her death with respect to real property eligible for tax relief under this article;

C. Be under age 65 and eligible in accordance with applicable federal regulations to receive permanent total disability benefits under social security, or has not been engaged in employment covered by social security and accordingly has not qualified for benefits thereunder but has become qualified for permanent total disability benefits under any federal, state or local government retirement or disability plan, including the Railroad Retirement Act and any government-related teachers' retirement plan, in which the requirements with respect to qualifications for such permanent total disability benefits are comparable to such requirements under social security; and

D. Shall have individually, if unmarried, or jointly, if married, combined adjusted gross income, as shown on Internal Revenue forms, social security benefits, and all other income, taxable or nontaxable, of $60,000 or less during the calendar year preceding the filing of his/her application in accordance with the guidelines set forth below.

§ 465-21 Program established; guidelines.

A. Tax relief shall be provided by the Town, to qualified applicants, with household incomes of $60,000 or less, and residency requirements as stated above. Maximum yearly allowable relief to be $550 or total tax whichever is less. Total yearly program not to be more than 1/2 of 1% of the Town of Clinton's preceding year total operating budget.

B. The real property for which tax relief is sought must be occupied by the applicant as his or her principal residence and must either be owned by the applicant or be real property for which the applicant or his or her spouse is liable for taxes under C.G.S. § 12-48.

C. If property is held in trust for a person who would otherwise qualify for the elderly tax relief program, the tax relief may still be granted if the claimant is the primary beneficiary of the trust and the claimant meets all the requirements under this program. Under these circumstances, the application for relief shall be accompanied by a copy of the trust agreement. The trust agreement shall be reviewed by Town Counsel prior to any relief being granted to the claimant.

D. The property tax relief provided by this section shall be in addition to and not dependent upon those benefits available to qualified taxpayers under any C.G.S. §§ 12-129b to 12-129d, 12-129h and 12-170aa, provided that the Town and state benefits in any one year shall not exceed 75% of the real property tax which would have been imposed on a qualified taxpayer in the absence of such statute and this section. Tax relief would apply only to the residence itself, the house lot which the residence is located and improvements on said lot.

(1) If a qualifying taxpayer owns property jointly with a non-spouse, tax relief under the elderly tax relief program will be proportionate to the qualifying taxpayer's interest in the property.

(2) Before the tax relief or any portion thereof under this section shall be given, such person must first apply for tax relief under any state statute for which he/she is eligible. If such applicant has not applied for tax relief under any state statute because he/she is not eligible, he or she shall so certify by filing annually to the Assessor or authorized agent on a form acceptable to the Assessor an affidavit testifying to his or her eligibility. The application must be filed each year with the Assessor between February 1 and May 15 for tax relief for the following fiscal year which begins on July 1.

E. Any otherwise-qualified applicant must own and reside on the property subject to tax relief for at least 184 days per year, for the property to qualify as the taxpayer's principal residence. Only one tax credit shall be allowed for each property eligible for tax relief. In any case where title to such real property is recorded in the name of the taxpayer or his or her spouse who is eligible for tax relief and any other person or persons, the tax amount shall be prorated to allow a tax credit equivalent to the fractional share in the property of such eligible taxpayer or spouse; if such property is a multiple-family dwelling, such tax credit shall be prorated to reflect the fractional portion of such property occupied by the eligible taxpayer as provided by state statutes. Persons not otherwise eligible shall not receive any tax relief.

F. If any person entitled to the tax relief dies without leaving a qualified spouse, prorated tax relief shall be given from October 1, of the assessment year in which death occurs to the date of death. Such prorated portion shall be determined by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the number of full months from the first day of October in such assessment year to the date of death and the denominator shall be 12. If such person dies, the tax relief which such person shall be allowed for his or her estate shall be given for the next fiscal year and for any subsequent fiscal years in which the surviving spouse of such person meets the requirements set forth. If any person receiving qualified tax relief hereunder sells the property on which the tax relief is granted, no additional tax relief shall be allowed for his or her interest in the property, and the purchaser of such property shall pay the Town a prorated portion of the tax relief for that fiscal year. Such prorated portion of such relief shall be determined by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the number of months from the date of conveyance, including the month of conveyance, to the end of the assessment year and the denominator of which shall be 12. If such conveyance occurs in the month of October, the grantor shall be disqualified for tax relief in such assessment year. The grantee shall be required within a period not to exceed 10 days immediately following the date of such conveyance to notify the Assessor thereof, whereupon the Assessor shall determine the amount of tax reduction to which the grantor is entitled for such assessment year.

G. The Tax Collector and Assessor of the Town of Clinton shall prescribe, with regard to their respective duties under this section, such forms and procedures as may be necessary to implement this section. The Assessor shall determine the applicant's qualifications for such relief. All applications, federal income tax returns filed therewith and any additional evidence of qualifying income which the Assessor may require shall be kept confidential and not open to public inspection.

H. Applications for benefits under this section shall be filed annually with the Assessor or authorized agent between February 1 and May 15 when State of Connecticut applications are due, with the exception of the initial year in which applications may be accepted between March 1, 2002, and May 15, 2002.

I. Any applicant who has received benefits from this section and is later found to be ineligible after filing a false affidavit will be liable for all benefits received. The amount due will be treated as taxes not paid from the date they would have been due and will be subject to interest and penalties as prescribed by law.

J. This article shall take effect on passage and publication according to law. Once this article takes effect, it may be amended by vote of the legislative body on recommendation of the Board of Finance without complying with requirements of C.G.S. § 12-129n applicable to this article's initial approval.

K. If any section, subsection or other portion of this article shall be declared unconstitutional or otherwise invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality or invalidity shall not affect the remaining portions of this article if they can be given effect without the unconstitutional or invalid provisions.

L. Any person aggrieved by the action of the Assessor in determining the amount of relief or in disapproving any such application under this article may appeal to the Board of Selectmen in writing, within 10 days after the date of the written notification of the Assessor on such application. The Board of Selectmen shall promptly consider such appeal and may grant or deny the relief requested, or make such other modifications necessary to comply with this article.