[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.
