[Adopted 1-5-1977 (Ord. No. 45A); amended 4-27-1983; 4-11-1990; 5-24-2000; 3-13-2001; 4-14-2004; 12-15-2008; 1-21-2009; 5-7-2014]
The Town of Newtown hereby modifies its program of tax relief
for the elderly pursuant to § 12-129n of the General Statutes
of Connecticut for eligible residents of the Town of Newtown for the
fiscal year commencing July 1, 2014, on the terms and conditions provided
herein.
Any person who owns real property in the Town of Newtown or who is liable for the payment of taxes thereon pursuant to § 12-48 of the Connecticut General Statutes and who occupies said real property as a residence and who fulfills the following eligibility requirements shall be entitled, subject to the limits, if any, of § 208-8, to tax relief pursuant to § 12-129n of the Connecticut General Statutes in the form of a tax credit which may be reviewed and established by the Legislative Council for succeeding fiscal years, provided that any such revision for a subsequent fiscal year shall be made prior to the time when the Legislative Council makes its final proposed budget recommendation for said fiscal year. The First Selectman may contact the Chairman of the Legislative Council on or before February 1 of each calendar year to discuss such possible review.
A.
Age and disability provisions.
(1)
Such person is 65 years of age or over as of July 1 following his/her
application; or his or her spouse living with said person is 65 years
of age or over as of July 1 following his/her application; the surviving
spouse, 60 years or over as of July 1 following his/her application,
of a taxpayer who has qualified in Newtown under this article at the
time of his or her death.
(2)
Such person is under age 65 years of age and eligible in accordance
with applicable federal regulations to receive permanent total disability
benefits under Social Security, or has not been engaged in employment
covered by Social Security and accordingly has not qualified for benefits
thereunder, but has 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.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 45 U.S.C. § 9 et seq.
B.
Such person has resided at and paid real estate taxes on a residence
located in Newtown for a period of one year prior to his or her application
for tax relief.
C.
The property for which the exemption is claimed is the legal domicile
of such person and is occupied more than 183 days of each year by
such person.
D.
Such person shall have applied for property tax relief under any
state statutes for which he/she is eligible. If such applicant has
not applied for tax relief under any state statute 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.
E.
Effective the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2015, and the application
period commencing March 1, 2015, biannual reapplication shall be required.
F.
Such person shall have individually, if unmarried, or jointly, if
married, modified income (as hereinafter defined) not more than established
by resolution of the Legislative Council in accordance with this section.
(1)
Modified income shall be calculated as follows, based on the tax
year ending immediately preceding the application for tax relief benefits:
|
Federal adjusted gross income, as defined in the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as may be amended from time to time ("AGI")
|
$XXX
| |
|
PLUS:
| ||
|
Social security/railroad retirement benefits not included in
AGI
|
$XXX
| |
|
Tax-exempt interest income
|
$XXX
| |
|
Net losses per Form 1040 (used to arrive at AGI)
|
$XXX
| |
|
Business losses per Form 1040
|
$XXX
| |
|
Capital losses per Form 1040
|
$XXX
| |
|
Other losses per Form 1040
|
$XXX
| |
|
Schedule E losses per Form 1040
|
$XXX
| |
|
Farm losses per Form 1040
|
$XXX
| |
|
Net operating losses per Form 1040
|
$XXX
| |
|
Disability income not included in AGI
|
$XXX
| |
|
MINUS:
| ||
|
Unreimbursed gross medical expenses qualifying as and included
on a federal income tax return of the calendar year immediately preceding
the year of application as an itemized deduction in excess of 7.5%
of AGI (per form 1040, Schedule A)
|
($XXX)
|
|
(Deduction of unreimbursed gross medical expenses effective
the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2015, and the application period
commencing March 1, 2015)
|
(2)
For the 2014-2015 fiscal year and subsequent fiscal years (unless
changed by the Legislative Council in accordance with this section),
the modified income levels for the prior calendar year and the corresponding
maximum available tax credits for those levels shall be as follows:
|
Reference Designation
|
Modified Income Level
|
Maximum Available Tax Credit
| |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Group A
|
$0 to $45,000
|
$2,525
| |
|
Group B
|
$45,001 to $55,000
|
$1,750
| |
|
Group C
|
$55,001 to $65,000
|
$1,300
| |
|
Group D
|
$65,001 to $70,000
|
$800
|
(3)
Modified income levels and corresponding maximum available tax credits
are subject to change upon resolution by the Legislative Council,
which may base such changes on recommendations to the Legislative
Council from the office of the First Selectman. Current modified income
levels and corresponding maximum available tax credits shall be made
available to the public in the office of the Tax Collector.
G.
An applicant will be disqualified if he/she owes taxes in the Town
of Newtown more than six months delinquent.
H.
Any application for tax relief must be filed by any person who fulfills
the eligibility requirements in this article.
I.
The tax credit on real property as provided herein shall only apply
to the residence itself, the lot on which the residence is located
and improvements on said lot.
J.
All applications and supporting information filed with the Town shall
be treated as confidential documents.
K.
Effective the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2015, and the application period commencing March 1, 2015, any applicant who qualifies for property tax relief hereunder shall have individually, if unmarried, or jointly, if married, a qualifying total asset value not exceeding an amount that shall be annually established upon resolution by the Legislative Council no later than September 30 prior to the next applicable fiscal year (the "QTAV limit"). Qualifying total asset value shall consist of any and all assets of the applicant individually, if unmarried, or jointly, if married, as of the date of the application, but shall specifically exclude the value of the applicant's primary legal residence and all tangible personal property contained therein. Each applicant shall make a sworn statement in a form satisfactory to the Tax Collector that such applicant's qualifying total asset value does not exceed the QTAV limit. The QTAV limit, as set forth in this § 208-2K, is subject to change upon resolution by the Legislative Council, and the current QTAV limit shall be made available to the public in the office of the Tax Collector.
L.
Effective the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2015, and the application period commencing March 1, 2015, the property tax relief available hereunder shall be available for one residence only collectively for each applicant individually, if unmarried, or jointly, if married, and shall not be available to any residence with an assessed value in excess of 200% of the median assessed value of residences assessed during each of the prior assessment years, October 1 to September 30, since the inception of the last Town-wide revaluation as calculated by the Assessor (the "assessed value limit"). The assessed value limit, as set forth in this § 208-2L, is subject to change upon resolution by the Legislative Council, and the current assessed value limit shall be made available to the public in the office of the Tax Collector.
In order to be entitled to the benefits provided herein, an
application must be filed with the Tax Collector of the Town of Newtown
not earlier than March 1 nor later than May 15 (June 1, 2014, in the
case of 2014 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.
The total of all tax credits granted under the provisions of
this article shall not in any taxable year exceed an amount equal
to 10% of the total real property tax assessed in Newtown in the preceding
tax year.
Only one tax credit 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 are eligible for tax relief
and any other person or persons, the tax relief under this article
shall be prorated to allow a tax credit 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 credit.
The Town of Newtown hereby waives any lien rights given to it
by § 12-129n of the General Statutes of the State of Connecticut.
No person's normal real estate tax shall be reduced by more
than 75% by virtue of said credit provided by this article, together
with all tax relief benefits obtained by said person from the State
of Connecticut pursuant to state law.
For each fiscal year the total revenue loss to the Town from
the program, together with all other elderly real property tax relief
benefit programs pursuant to state law, exclusive of any tax deferral
programs that may from time to time be enacted, shall not exceed the
amount appropriated in said fiscal year's annual budget for the program
(the "cap amount"). The portion of the cap amount to be allocated
for tax credits to qualified applicants in the Groups A-C modified
income levels (the "Groups A-C cap") and the Group D modified income
level (the "Group D cap") shall be established upon resolution by
the Legislative Council. For the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2014,
the Groups A-C cap shall be $1,500,000 and the Group D cap shall be
$150,000. In the event that the number of qualified applicants in
one or more of the modified income levels is such that providing the
maximum available tax credit to each such applicant would result in
revenue loss exceeding the cap amount or tax credits not equal to
the Groups A-C cap or the Group D cap, the Tax Collector shall utilize
the following method to determine the actual tax credits received
by qualified applicants:
A.
If the product of the number of qualified applicants in the Group
D modified income level and the corresponding maximum available tax
credit (the "Group D applied tax credit") is more than the Group D
cap, then the tax credits available to qualified applicants in the
Group D modified income level shall be reduced on a pro-rata basis
such that the total amount of tax credits for such applicants does
not exceed the Group D cap. If the Group D applied tax credit is less
than or equal to the Group D cap, the excess funds, if any (the "Group
D surplus"), shall be allocated to fund tax credits for qualified
applicants in the Groups A-C modified income levels.
B.
If the product of the number of qualified applicants in the Groups A-C modified income levels and the corresponding maximum available tax credit (the "Groups A-C applied tax credit") is more than the sum of the Groups A-C cap and the Group D surplus, if any (the "Groups A-C allocation"), then the tax credits available to qualified applicants in the Groups A-C modified income levels shall be reduced on a pro-rata basis such that the total amount of tax credits for such applicants does not exceed the Groups A-C allocation. If the Groups A-C applied tax credit is less than or equal to the Groups A-C allocation, the excess funds, if any (the "Groups A-C surplus"), shall be made available to fund the following fiscal year's Legislative Council approved senior tax abatement budget allocation. The cap amount, the Groups A-C cap, the Group D cap, and the method utilized to determine the actual tax credits to be received by qualified applicants may be revised by the Legislative Council in the same manner as the modified income levels and corresponding maximum available tax credits may be revised pursuant to § 208-2.
