[Adopted 6-13-2001; amended in its entirety 9-10-2003]
The Town of Branford hereby enacts property
tax relief for eligible elderly and/or totally disabled homeowners,
pursuant to the authority granted by Connecticut General Statutes,
Section 12-129n, as amended.
Any person who is liable for the payment of taxes on residential real estate and who meets the eligibility requirements of this section shall be entitled, subject to the limits, if any, of § 220-18 of this article, to tax relief in the form of a tax deferral, as provided herein.
A.
Such person shall be:
(1)
Sixty-five years of age or over as of December 31
of the year prior to his/her application; or
(2)
His or her spouse living with said person is 65 years
of age or over as of December 31 of the year prior to his/her application;
or
(3)
The surviving spouse, 60 years or over as of December
31 of the year prior to his/her application, of a taxpayer who has
qualified in Branford under this article at the time of his or her
death; or
(4)
Under the age of 65 and eligible in accordance with
applicable federal regulations to receive permanent total disability
benefits under social security, or have not been engaged in employment
covered by social security and accordingly have not qualified for
benefits thereunder, but have become qualified for permanent total
disability benefits under any federal, state or local government retirement
or disability plan, including the Railroad Retirement Act and any
government-related teacher's retirement plan, in which requirements
with respect to qualifications for such permanent total disability
benefits are comparable to such requirements under social security.
B.
Such person shall have been a taxpayer in the Town
of Branford for one year immediately preceding the receipt of tax
benefits under this article.
C.
The property for which the exemption is claimed must
be the legal domicile of such person and occupied as his or her principal
residence.
D.
Such person shall have applied for property tax relief
under Connecticut General Statutes, Sections 12-129b through 12-129d,
inclusive, or under Section 12-170aa. If such applicant has not applied
for tax relief from the state because he/she is not eligible, he/she
shall so certify by filing, on a form acceptable to the Tax Collector,
an affidavit testifying to his/her ineligibility and the basis for
such ineligibility.
E.
Reapplication each year will not be required, except
that in any subsequent calendar year that an applicant has income
in excess of the maximum described in this section, he/she shall notify
the Tax Collector on or before the next filing date and shall be denied
tax relief for that year and any subsequent year until he/she has
reapplied and again qualified for relief under this article. The Assessor
and/or the Tax Collector shall require requalification every two years.
F.
Such person shall have individually, if unmarried, or jointly, if married, 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, dividend exclusions as set forth in Section 116 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, social security benefits, railroad retirement benefits, income from other tax-exempt retirement and annuity sources in an amount not more than that stated in this Subsection F. To be eligible for tax relief from taxes due on the Grand List of October 1, 2006, the maximum income level for calendar year 2006 shall be as follows:
[Amended 4-12-2007]
G.
Such person shall be disqualified from the tax relief
provided hereunder with respect to any fiscal year if he/she owes
delinquent taxes in the Town of Branford as of the commencement of
such fiscal year.
H.
The tax deferral on real property as provided herein
shall only apply to the residence itself, the lot on which the residence
is located, and any such improvements on said lot.
In order to be entitled to the benefits provided
herein, an application must be filed with the Tax Collector of the
Town of Branford not earlier than February 1 nor later than May 15
(November 30, 2003, in the case of 2003-2004 fiscal year applications)
to obtain the benefits provided herein for the next fiscal year. The
application for tax relief must be made after such person becomes
eligible to apply as set forth above.
Any qualified recipient of tax deferral relief
under this article shall be subject to the following conditions and
limitations:
A.
Only one tax deferral as heretofore set forth shall
be allowed for each parcel of land eligible for the tax relief under
this article. In any case where title to real property is recorded
in the name of the taxpayer or his or her spouse who is eligible for
tax relief, together with any other person or persons, the tax relief
under this article shall be prorated to allow a tax deferral equivalent
to the fractional share in the property of such taxpayer or spouse,
and the persons not otherwise eligible for tax relief shall not receive
any tax deferral.
B.
An eligible person shall be entitled to deferral of
all real property taxes otherwise due, subject to the limitations
of the following sentence, and as otherwise provided herein. The real
estate tax otherwise due shall not be reduced by more than 75% by
virtue of the deferral provided under this article, together with
all tax relief benefits obtained by said person from the State of
Connecticut pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes, Sections 12-129b
to 12-129d, inclusive, and Section 12-170aa.
C.
All amounts deferred shall be reimbursed to the Town upon the earlier of the death of the taxpayer or the conveyance of the real property subject to taxation in accordance with § 220-21 of this article.
D.
Interest charges.
[Amended 4-12-2007]
(1)
All amounts deferred shall be subject to an interest
charge as follows:
(a)
No interest for any qualified recipient of tax
relief under this article who has been determined eligible for the
Elderly and Totally Disabled Tax Relief Program (Connecticut General
Statutes Sections 12-129b through 12-129d and 12-170aa) as administered
by the State of Connecticut;
(b)
Equal to 1% per annum for any qualified recipient of tax relief under this article whose income level as defined in § 220-16F hereof exceeds the income guidelines established by the State of Connecticut for the Elderly and Totally Disabled Tax Relief Program (Connecticut General Statutes Sections 12-129b through 12-129d and 12-170aa) but does not exceed $40,000.
(2)
Such interest charge shall be included in the written
agreement to be entered into by the Town and the taxpayer. Such interest
shall be applied on the first day of each month and shall accrue from
the date of deferral until the date of payment.
[Amended 4-7-2009]
E.
Total deferment, including interest, for all years
shall not exceed the total assessed value of the real property.
F.
The taxpayer shall enter into an annual written agreement
with the Town providing for reimbursement of the deferred taxes, interest
and lien fees. The principal amount of such tax deferral benefit,
excluding interest, shall be recorded in the land records of the Town
and shall constitute a lien on the property payable as set forth herein.
[Amended 5-8-2006]
[Amended 4-12-2007]
The total revenue loss to the Town under this article shall not exceed $336,433 for the 2007-2008 fiscal year and for future years shall not exceed 0.50% of the total amount of taxes collected against the most recent grand list year for which audit figures are available, which amount shall constitute a spending "cap" for purposes of this article. In the event that applications for relief filed would result in revenue loss to the Town exceeding that amount, then the sum of eligible applicants shall be divided into said cap amount, and the resulting relief amount shall be apportioned pro rata among the eligible applicants. This cap amount and the income guidelines in § 220-16 of this article may be revised by the Representative Town Meeting on the recommendation of the Board of Finance from time to time, provided that any such revision for a subsequent fiscal year shall be made prior to the time that the Representative Town Meeting adopts a budget for said fiscal year. The Tax Collector shall contact the Chairman of the Board of Finance and the Moderator of the Representative Town Meeting on or before February 1 of each year to discuss such possible revision.
The Tax Collector of the Town of Branford shall
prescribe, with regard to his/her respective duties under this article,
such forms and procedures as may be necessary to implement this article.
The Tax Collector, in addition, shall satisfy himself or herself as
to the qualifying income of an applicant for benefits under this article
and may request and review such evidence of qualifying income as he
or she may deem pertinent.
If any person with respect to whom a claim for
tax deferral in accordance with this article has been approved for
any assessment year transfers, assigns, grants or otherwise conveys
the interest in real property to which such claim for tax deferral
is related, whether at death or inter vivos, other than to such person's
qualified spouse or for purposes of collateral security, such tax
and any previous deferral benefits shall be due and payable and collectable
as other property taxes and subject to the same liens and processes
of collection, provided that such tax shall be due in an initial or
single installment not sooner than 90 days after the date such bill
is mailed or handed to the grantee (and in equal amounts in any remaining
regular installments as the same are due and payable).
