[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Woodstown as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted 3-22-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-3]
The definitions contained in N.J.S.A. 40A:21-3 are incorporated
herein by reference as if set forth at length. As used in this article,
words shall have the meanings as so defined unless a different meaning
is expressed.
The Borough hereby authorizes the utilization of tax exemption
and abatement in accordance with Article VIII, Section I, Paragraph
6, of the New Jersey Constitution and establishes the eligibility
of property located within areas designated by the Borough as those
in need of rehabilitation or redevelopment for five-year tax exemptions
and abatements as authorized by N.J.S.A. 40A:21-1 et seq.
A. Construction of new commercial and industrial structures, conversion
or improvements to the property shall be eligible for tax exemption
or exemption and abatement commencing with completion of the project.
Any such exemption or exemption and abatement shall be subject to
the owner and Borough entering into a tax agreement as provided by
N.J.S.A. 40A:21-10.
B. The applicant shall furnish to the Borough an application setting
forth the information required by N.J.S.A. 40A:21-9. The Borough Council
shall thereafter adopt an ordinance authorizing a tax agreement for
a particular project. No tax exemption or exemption and abatement
shall be granted unless such tax agreement is approved by resolution
of the Borough Council on an individual basis after review, evaluation
and approval of such tax agreement for compliance with the terms of
the ordinance and the underlying statute, rules and regulations.
C. The tax agreement shall provide for the applicant to pay to the Borough,
in lieu of full property tax payments, an amount annually to be computed
by one, but in no case a combination, of the three formulas set forth
in N.J.S.A. 40A:21-10, namely the cost basis or tax phase-in basis.
D. Within 30 days after the execution of any such tax agreement, the
Borough Clerk shall forward a copy of the agreement to the Director
of the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of
Community Affairs.
E. In addition, every applicant shall file the application form prescribed
by the Director of the New Jersey Division of Taxation in the Department
of the Treasury with the Tax Assessor, as a condition of approval,
within 30 days, including Saturdays and Sundays, following the completion
of the improvement. Every application for exemption or exemption and
abatement so filed shall be approved and allowed by the Assessor to
the degree that the application is consistent with the provisions
of this article, provided that the improvement for which the application
is made qualifies as such pursuant to the provisions of this article
and the specific tax agreement. The granting of an exemption or exemption
and abatement and tax agreement, if appropriate, shall be recorded
and made a permanent part of the official tax records of the taxing
district, which record shall contain a notice of termination date
thereof.
An additional improvement or construction, completed on a property
granted a previous exemption or abatement during the period in which
such previous exemption or abatement is in effect, shall be qualified
for an exemption and/or abatement just as if such property had not
received a previous exemption or abatement. In such case, the additional
improvement or construction shall be considered as separate for the
purposes of calculating exemptions and abatements, except that the
assessed valuation of any previous improvement or construction shall
be added to the assessed valuation as it was prior to that improvement
or construction for the purpose of determining the assessed valuation
of the property from which any additional abatement is to be subtracted.
Every application for exemption or abatement and every exemption
and abatement granted shall be subject to all of the provisions of
N.J.S.A. 40A:21-1 et seq. and all rules and regulations issued thereunder.
All tax abatement and exemption agreements shall provide that
the applicant is subject to all federal, state and local laws and
regulations.
The percentage which the payment in lieu of taxes bears to the
property taxes which would have been paid had an abatement not been
granted for the property under the agreement shall be applied to the
valuation of the property to determine the reduced valuation of the
property to be included in the valuation of the Borough for determining
equalization for county tax apportionment and school aid during the
term of the tax abatement agreement covering the property.
If, during any tax year period to the determination of the tax
abatement or exemption agreement, the applicant ceases to operate
or disposes of the property or otherwise fails to meet the conditions
of eligibility, the tax otherwise due if there had been no abatement
or exemption shall become due and payable by the property owner. The
Tax Assessor shall, within 15 days thereof, notify the owner of the
property of the amount of taxes due. However, with respect to the
sale or other disposal of the property, where it is determined that
the new owner of the property will continue to use the property pursuant
to the conditions which qualified the property, no tax shall be due,
the exemption and the abatement shall continue, and the agreement
shall remain in effect.
In the event of default by the applicant, including but not
limited to the failure to make timely tax or in-lieu payments to the
Borough, the Borough Tax Assessor shall notify the applicant, in writing,
of said default. The applicant shall have 30 days to cure any default.
Following the thirty-day cure period, the Borough shall have the right
to proceed against the property pursuant to the in rem tax foreclosure
action, N.J.S.A. 54:4-1 et seq., and/or may cancel the tax agreement
upon 30 days' notice to the applicant.
At the termination of a tax abatement or exemption agreement,
a project shall be subject to all applicable real property taxes as
provided by state law and local ordinance.
The Borough Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to forward
a certified copy of this article to the State of New Jersey Department
of Community Affairs.
No exemptions shall be granted for any property for which taxes
or any other municipal charges are delinquent or remain unpaid or
for which penalties for nonpayment are due for a period of at least
one year, or for any property not being used in conformance with local,
state or federal ordinance, regulation or statute. In addition, one-
and two-family structures which contain home-based businesses are
ineligible for the tax exemption or abatement programs described herein.
Appeal of any determination made by the Borough under the terms
of this article shall be made to the Salem County Board of Taxation,
unless a direct appeal to the New Jersey Tax Court is authorized by
law.
[Adopted 7-26-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-9]
The Borough will allow for either a veteran or surviving spouse
of a veteran to obtain municipal property tax relief upon proper claim
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:4-30 et seq. An "eligible veteran" shall be
defined as a member of the armed forces who was either honorably discharged
or released under honorable circumstances from active service, in
time of war, in any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States,
who has been or shall be declared by the United States Veterans'
Administration or its successor to have a service-connected disability
and to be determined to be 100% permanently disabled.
A. In order to qualify for the municipal tax exemption, the veteran
or someone on his/her behalf, under oath, must file a written claim
with the Tax Assessor's office. The Tax Assessor's office
will supply the applicant with the appropriate paperwork, and the
applicant will be required to provide the Tax Assessor's office
with the following information:
(2) A description of the property for which the exemption is claimed;
(3) A certificate of the claimant's honorable discharge or release
under honorable circumstances from active service, in time of war,
and a certificate/letter from the United States Veterans' Administration
or its successors, certifying to a service-connected disability;
(4) Any other documentation as required by statute at the time the application
is made.
B. In order for a surviving spouse of a veteran to qualify for the municipal
tax exemption, the spouse, under oath, must file a written claim with
the Tax Assessor's office. The Tax Assessor's office will
supply the surviving spouse with the appropriate paperwork, and the
applicant will be required to provide the Tax Assessor's office
with the following information:
(1) Proof to establish that the spouse is the owner of legal title to
the premises on which the exemption is made;
(2) That the claimant occupies the dwelling house on said premises as
the claimant's legal residence in the State of New Jersey;
(3) That the veteran has been declared by the United States Veterans'
Administration, or its successor, to have a service-connected disability
or that the veteran shall have been declared to have died in active
service in time of war;
(4) That the veteran is or would have been entitled to the exemption
at the time of death;
(5) The claimant is a resident of the State of New Jersey and has not
remarried.
In determining a grant of a municipal tax exemption under this
article, the Borough will prorate the exemption for the remainder
of the year in which application is made and accepted by the Borough.
Additionally, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.32, the Borough shall refund
the veteran or surviving spouse all taxes previously paid for the
year in which the application to the Borough is made only, retroactive
to January 1 of said year. There shall be no further retroactive refund
granted, regardless of the disability date determination of the United
States Veterans' Administration.