[Adopted 6-14-1990, as amended 12-18-1997 and 5-16-2002 (Ch. II, § 8, 2-08-04,
of the 1991 Code); amended in its entirety 8-17-2017]
As of August 17, 2017, the Town Council hereby adopts an exemption
schedule as outlined herein. All taxpayers receiving senior, variable,
and/or disability exemptions as of August 17, 2017, will continue
to receive their exemption, after required annual qualification, in
an amount not to exceed the exemption allowed as of December 31, 2016.
A.
Elderly and disability exemptions. The Town Council does hereby grant
an exemption from the tax assessed on the real property situated in
said Town which is owned and occupied by owners 65 years of age or
over or under 65 years of age who are permanently disabled in an amount
as follows:
(1)
Qualified owners who are 65 years of age or older, or qualified owners
that are permanently disabled: an exemption in the amount of $2,070.
(2)
Owners who are 80 years of age or older, and have owner-occupied
property for 20 years prior, shall receive an additional exemption
of $1,000.
(3)
Qualified owner-occupants after August 17, 2017, regardless of exemptions
allowed on real estate, shall pay a minimum tax of $600 annually.
B.
Variable income exemption: For qualified owner-occupants receiving
the variable income exemption prior to August 18, 2017: The Town Council
also exempts from taxation the real property situated in said Town
which is owned and occupied by owners with a combined adjusted gross
taxable annual household income not to exceed $27,681, exclusive of
social security benefits, at the rate applied to the qualified owner-occupant
as of December 31, 2016. The variable income exemption does not apply
to owner-occupants August 18, 2017, forward.
C.
A schedule specifying said exemptions, as may be approved annually
by the Council, shall be maintained by the Tax Assessor. The exemptions
provided for herein may be decreased or increased at the discretion
of the Town Council.
D.
Said exemptions shall be prorated among the owners of said real property
and shall be in addition to any and all other exemptions from taxation
to which said owner may be otherwise entitled. Said exemption shall
be applied uniformly, and shall be granted upon proof of the following:
(1)
Age.
(2)
Ownership and occupancy: For owner-occupants prior to August 18,
2017, they shall have resided at said property for a period of five
continuous years of the prior seven years, next to the filing of an
application for the exemption. For owner-occupants, as of August 18,
2018, they shall have resided at said property for a period of 10
continuous years, of the prior 12, next to the filing of an application
for the exemption.
(3)
Legal domicile in said Town.
(4)
Disability, which shall mean a permanent physical or mental illness
rendering the person afflicted incapable of gainful employment and
so certified by a licensed physician.
(5)
Annual validation of the household income eligibility level for owners
receiving an exemption prior to August 18, 2017, with such proof thereof
as is required by the Tax Assessor to be submitted by March 15.
E.
The taxable annual income eligibility level, for owners receiving
an exemption prior to August 18, 2017, shall be adjusted annually,
beginning with taxes assessed as of December 31, 2016, in accordance
with the average percentage change calculated during the 12 months
next preceding December in the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Northeast
Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-UC).
A.
No person shall be entitled to any exemption herein authorized in
any year without first filing an application with the Tax Assessor
on forms furnished by the Assessor. Each application shall be sworn
to by the applicant or applicants under penalty of perjury. Proof
of age, ownership, occupancy, legal domicile, or disability shall
be furnished in the following manner:
(1)
Proof of age: Age may be proved by furnishing to the Assessor either
a birth certificate, certificate of citizenship, baptismal certificate,
sworn affidavit of a third party or by such other means as may be
approved by the Assessor.
(2)
Ownership: Ownership may be established by furnishing the Tax Assessor
with the date of purchase and land record citation of same by the
applicant of the residential property involved.
(3)
Occupancy: Occupancy of the residential property may be proven by
incorporating such fact in the sworn application for exemption.
(4)
Legal domicile: Legal domicile may be established by the production
of voter's registration certificate, or by the production of
a license to operate a motor vehicle, or a registration certificate
or by such other means as the Assessor may reasonably require.
(5)
Disability: Disability may be established by providing the Tax Assessor
with a signed and notarized statement by a licensed physician declaring
the applicant disabled as defined herein.
(6)
Other forms of proof: An applicant may provide proof of right of
exemption if the above specified methods are not available to him
or her by furnishing military records, passports, certificates of
citizenship, or by such other evidence of proof as may be required
by the Assessor.
(7)
Proof of income eligibility, for owners receiving an exemption prior
to August 18, 2017, shall include federal and state income tax returns
and/or such other documentation as may be required by the Assessor.
(8)
Household income, for owners receiving an exemption prior to August
18, 2017, shall include the annual gross taxable income of any person
who occupies and maintains said residence as his/her legal domicile.
B.
In the event that the applicants for exemption are co-tenants, joint
tenants or tenants by the entirety, the proof enumerated above by
any one of the applicants shall be sufficient to be entitled to the
exemption.
All exemptions shall terminate upon the conveyance of the subject
property, death of the person or persons exempted or the moving of
such person or persons from the Town of Glocester, or in the case
of a disability exemption when the physical or mental illness is terminated,
or when said exempted person(s) otherwise fail to qualify. However,
notwithstanding any other provision contained herein to the contrary,
any owner of real property who at one time was a resident of the Town
but has since transferred ownership of said property shall, after
reacquiring ownership of real property, be granted a tax exemption
upon proof, in addition to that required as set forth above, of the
following: for owner-occupants prior to August 18, 2017, ownership
and occupancy of said residential property, following nonownership
for a period not to exceed two years, provided said nonownership period
followed five years of continuous ownership and occupancy in order
to qualify for the tax exemption. For owner-occupants who purchase
their property as of August 18, 2017, proof of ownership and occupancy
of said residential property, following nonownership for a period
not to exceed two years, provided said nonownership period followed
10 years of continuous ownership and occupancy in order to qualify
for said tax exemptions. (If the nonownership period exceeds two years,
the exemption will terminate.) No exceptions shall be made regarding
the time frame set forth above.
