[Adopted 1-26-2006 STM]
Pursuant to the authority granted under C.G.S. § 12-129n,
as amended, the tax relief for elderly homeowners provided under said
statute is hereby adopted, extended and supplemented as follows:
A.
Qualifications.
(1)
The qualifications for the property tax relief provided by this section
shall be as follows:
(a)
Applicants must be residents of the Town of Bethany who are
65 years of age or over, or whose spouses, living with them, are 65
years of age or over and the surviving spouse of a taxpayer who has
qualified under this section at the time of his death or with respect
to real property in which such residents or their spouses are liable
for taxes under C.G.S § 12-48; or
(b)
Applicants under the age 65 must be eligible in accordance with
applicable federal regulations to receive permanent total disability
benefits under social security, or have not been engaged in employment
covered by social security and accordingly have not qualified for
benefits thereunder, but have 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 teacher's retirement plan, in which requirements
with respect to qualifications for such permanent total disability
benefits are comparable to such requirements under social security.
(c)
The applicants and/or their spouses must have been taxpayers of the Town of Bethany for one year immediately preceding their receipt of tax benefits under this section. For all applicants applying for a tax credit on the Grand List of October 1, 2005, and thereafter, the tax credit set forth in § 184-9A(2) shall be prorated according to the period of residency.
(d)
Applicants and/or their spouses shall have individually, if
unmarried, or jointly, if married, adjusted gross income, as shown
on Internal Revenue Service Form 1040, social security benefits, and
all other income, hereinafter called "qualifying income," during the
calendar year preceding the filing of his or her application in accordance
with the guidelines set forth below.
(e)
Such other conditions, qualifications, standards and procedures
as are set forth in the General Statutes, as may be amended, and this
section.
(2)
For the Grand List of October 1, 2005, tax credits shall be provided
by the Town to qualified applicants on a graduated base in accordance
with the following income and credit guidelines:
|
Income Level
|
Tax Credit
|
Percentage of Minimum Credit
|
Maximum Credit
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Over
|
To
|
Married
|
Single
|
Married
|
Single
|
Married
|
Single
|
|
$0
|
$13,400
|
50%
|
40%
|
$400
|
$350
|
$1,250
|
$1,000
|
|
$13,400
|
$18,100
|
40%
|
30%
|
$350
|
$250
|
$1,000
|
$750
|
|
$18,100
|
$22,600
|
30%
|
20%
|
$250
|
$150
|
$750
|
$500
|
|
$22,600
|
$27,100
|
20%
|
10%
|
$150
|
$150
|
$500
|
$250
|
|
$27,100
|
$33,000
|
10%
|
0%
|
$150
|
$0
|
$250
|
$0
|
|
Notes:
|
|---|
|
* Data for homeowners only.
|
|
* For married couples, both incomes must be counted.
|
|
(Source: State of CT, Office of Policy & Management)
|
(3)
Any otherwise qualified applicant must own and reside in the dwelling
of the property subject to tax abatement for at least 183 days per
year for the property to qualify as the taxpayer's principal residence.
(4)
Upon the sale of the property, the new owner shall lose the local
tax benefit, and the Assessor and Collector shall prorate the increased
tax liability from the date of sale and bill the new owner within
a reasonable time period.
B.
Application procedure.
(1)
The Tax Collector and Assessor of the Town of Bethany 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, in addition, shall satisfy himself or herself as to the
qualifying income of an applicant for benefits under this section
by requesting and reviewing such evidence of qualifying income as
he or she may deem pertinent. 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.
(2)
Applications for benefits under this section shall be filed with
the Assessor between February 1 and May 15.
