[Amended 5-11-2015 by Ord. No. 03-15-301]
A. All ratable property in the Town shall be classified by the Tax Assessor
as follows:
(1) Class 1: residential real estate consisting of no more than five
dwelling units, land classified as open space, and dwellings on leased
land, including mobile homes, including real estate upon which mobile
homes are constructed, including residential properties which received
and maintain a special use permit from the Zoning Board of Review
for parking or storage of a commercial vehicle with a GVW not exceeding
20,000 pounds.
(2) Class 2: commercial and industrial real estate, residential properties
containing partial commercial or business uses and residential real
estate of more than five dwelling units.
(3) Class 3: all ratable tangible personal property; excluding wholesale
and retail inventory, which shall be taxed in accordance with R.I.G.L.
§ 44-3-29.1.
(4) Class 4: motor vehicles and trailers subject to the excise tax created
by Chapter 34 of Title 44 of the Rhode Island General Laws.
B. The tax rate applicable to any class shall not exceed by 200% the
rate applicable to any other class.
C. Any tax rate changes from one year to the next shall be applied such
that the same percentage rate change is applicable to all classes.
D. Notwithstanding Subsections
A and
B, the tax rates applicable to wholesale and retail inventory within Class 3 as defined in Subsection
B are governed by R.I.G.L. § 44-3-29.1.
E. Notwithstanding Subsections
A and
B, the tax rates applicable to motor vehicles within Class 4 are governed by R.I.G.L. § 44-34.1-1.
F. Notwithstanding Subsections
A and
B, the tax rates applicable to residential real estate within Subsection
B are governed by R.I.G.L. § 44-5-70.
G. The provisions of R.I.G.L. Title 44, Chapter 35, relating to property
tax and fiscal disclosure apply to the reporting of and compliance
with these classification restrictions.
H. Renewable energy systems.
[Added 6-26-2017 by Ord.
No. 01-17-313]
(1) In accordance with Section 44-5-3(c) of the Rhode Island General
Laws (circa 2017), the assessor is authorized to levy a tax on renewable
energy tangible property as defined in § 39-26-5 in accordance
with the rules and regulations executed by the Rhode Island Office
of Energy Resources.
(2) In accordance with § 44-3-21 of the Rhode Island General
Laws (circa 2017), commercial net-metered renewable energy systems
whose sole purpose is to offset electricity bills and not to sell
power back to the electric distribution system are exempt from taxation
by the Town.
The Assessor of the Town of Coventry shall provide
to the Town Council of Coventry a list containing the full and fair
cash valuation of each property class and, with the approval of the
Town Council, annually determine the percentages of the tax levy to
be apportioned to each class of property and shall annually apply
tax rates sufficient to produce the proportion of the total tax levy.