[Adopted 8-17-2015 by Ord. No. 272-15]
The Town of Rocky Hill hereby establishes a municipal property tax relief program for certain homeowners age 65 or older pursuant to Section 12-129n of the General Statutes of Connecticut for eligible residents of the Town of Rocky Hill for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2015, on the terms and conditions provided herein. Effective with the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2015, this article shall be in addition to any and all tax relief programs for senior citizens.
A. 
Any person who owns real property in the Town of Rocky Hill or who is liable for the payment of taxes thereon under Section 12-48 of the Connecticut General Statutes, and occupies that property as his or her principal residence, shall be eligible for real property tax relief as set forth in § 223-28, provided all of the following conditions are met:
(1) 
At the close of the calendar year next preceding the year in which the claim for tax relief is filed, such person shall be:
(a) 
Sixty-five years of age or over; or the spouse of such person, living with him or her, shall be 65 years of age or over; or such person shall be 60 years of age or over and the surviving spouse of a taxpayer who qualified in Rocky Hill under this article at the time of his or her death.
(2) 
Such person shall have, individually, if unmarried, or jointly, if married, during the calendar year preceding the filing of his or her claim, whether or not separate federal income taxes were paid by him and/or his spouse, adjusted gross income as defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, plus tax-exempt interest as defined in Section 103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, plus social security benefits, railroad retirement benefits or income from other tax-exempt retirement and annuity sources, plus any other income not included in the above classifications in an amount not to exceed the levels set forth in § 223-30 of this article.
(3) 
Such person has resided in a residence located in the Town of Rocky Hill for a period of one year and has paid real estate taxes on a residence to the Town of Rocky Hill for a period of one year prior to his or her receipt of tax benefits under this article, or such person is eligible for the benefits of this article as a surviving spouse.
(4) 
The real property for which the benefits of this article are claimed must be the legal domicile of such person, and such person shall be in residence therein for at least 183 days in each Grand List year for which the benefits are claimed. Such claim for benefits shall be for one residence only.
(5) 
An application for tax relief under this article must be made biannually between February 1 and May 15, or in accordance with the period of applications under the State of Connecticut Homeowners' Program as the same may be modified from time to time.
B. 
No property tax relief under this article, together with any property tax relief received by such person under all applicable General Statutes of Connecticut shall exceed, in the aggregate, 75% of the tax which would, except for the General Statutes and this article, have been laid against the person applying for property tax relief hereunder.
C. 
The application for tax relief under this article shall have been made by such person after he or she has become eligible to apply therefor.
A. 
Credit shall be on a graduated basis as follows:
Income
Tax Credit
Over
To
Step 1
$0
$10,000
$500
Step 2
$10,000
$17,300
$400
Step 3
$17,300
$23,200
$250
Step 4
$23,200
$29,000
$200
Step 5
$29,000
$34,600
$150
Step 6
$34,600
$42,200
$100
B. 
This schedule shall apply to the taxes for all fiscal years beginning July 1, 2015. Thereafter, the amounts of qualifying income as provided in this article shall be adjusted annually in a uniform manner to reflect the annual inflation adjustment in social security income with each such adjustment of qualified income determined to the nearest $100.
C. 
The maximum allowable income shall be at least equal to the maximum allowable income as set by the State of Connecticut Homeowners' Program; however, under no circumstances shall the Town income limit be reduced below the state maximum.
A. 
Any eligible taxpayer or his or her authorized agent shall file an application for tax credit under this article with the Tax Assessor of the Town of Rocky Hill during the period set by the state for application to the State of Connecticut Homeowners' Program on a form prescribed and furnished by the Town of Rocky Hill. In making such application, the taxpayer shall present to the Tax Assessor a copy of their federal income tax return for the previous calendar year or, if not required to file a tax return, such other evidence of qualifying income which the Tax Assessor may reasonably require to establish compliance with the income qualifications provided in § 223-30 of this article. The applicant or his or her agent shall sign a sworn affidavit in the presence of the Tax Assessor's office staff affirming the accuracy of the statements in the application.
B. 
When the Tax Assessor determines that the applying taxpayer is entitled to tax credit under this article, he shall compute the amount of such tax credit and cause a certificate of tax credit to be issued in such form as to permit the Tax Collector to reduce the amount of tax levied against the taxpayer and make proper record thereof, and a copy of the certificate shall be delivered to the applicant. The tax relief shall be applied proportionately to the tax payments.
C. 
Applications, affidavits or other documentation presented in support of the application for tax relief shall not be open for public inspection and shall not be disclosed except in case of an appeal or in connection with claims of fraud to the proper authorities.
A. 
This article shall apply to the taxes for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2015.
B. 
The tax relief for real property as provided herein shall apply only to the residence itself, the lot on which the residence is located and the improvements thereon.