A N A C T
RELATING TO LEVY AND ASSESSMENT OF LOCAL TAXES
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 44-5 of the General Laws entitled "Levy and Assessment of Local Taxes" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following sections:
44-5-13.23. Assessment and taxation of new real estate construction in North Smithfield. -- (a) Completed new construction of real estate in North Smithfield completed after any assessment date shall be liable for the payment of municipal taxes from the date the certificate of occupancy is issued or the date on which the new construction is first used for the purpose for which it was constructed, whichever is earlier, prorated for the assessment year in which the new construction is completed. The prorated tax shall be computed on the basis of the rate of tax applicable with respect to the property, including the applicable rate of tax in any tax district in which the property is subject to tax following completion of the new construction, on the date the property becomes liable for the prorated tax in accordance with this section.
(b) The building inspector issuing the certificate, within ten (10) days after issuing the certificate, shall notify in writing the assessor of the issuance of the certificate of occupancy.
(c) Not later than ninety (90) days after the receipt by the assessor of the notice from the building inspector or from a determination by the assessor that the new construction is being used for the purpose for which it was constructed, the assessor shall determine the increment by which the assessment for the completed construction exceeds the assessment on the tax roll for the immediately preceding assessment date. The assessor shall prorate that amount from the date of issuance of the certificate of occupancy or the date on which the new construction was first used for the purpose for which it was constructed, as the case may be, to the assessment date immediately following and shall add the increment as so prorated to the tax roll for the immediately preceding assessment date and shall within five (5) days notify the record owner as appearing on the tax roll and tax collector of the additional assessment.
(d) Any person claiming to be aggrieved by the assessment and under obligation to pay more than one half (1/2) of the taxes thereon, may appeal to the assessor within ninety (90) days from notification of the original assessment or to superior court as provided.
(e) Upon receipt of the notice from the assessor, the tax collector shall, if the notice is received after the normal billing date, within ten (10) days thereafter mail or hand a bill to the owner based upon an amount prorated by the assessor. The tax shall be due and payable and collectible as other municipal taxes and subject to the same liens and processes of collection; provided that the tax shall be due and payable in an initial or single installment due and payable not sooner than thirty (30) days after the date the bill is mailed or handed to the owner, and in any remaining, regular installments, as they are due and payable, and the several installments of a tax so due and payable shall be equal.
(f) Nothing therein shall be deemed to authorize the collection of taxes twice in respect of the land upon which the new construction is located.
(g) This section shall only apply to taxes levied and properly assessed in the town of North Smithfield.
44-5-13.24. Reduction in assessed value of real estate -- Removal of damaged buildings -- North Smithfield. -- Whenever, after the expiration of ninety (90) days after damage to a building, the building remains so damaged as to require reconstruction of seventy-five percent (75%) or more before it may be used for any purpose related to its use prior to the damage and, following which, the owner provides for seventy-five percent (75%) or more demolition of the building, with the material from demolition being removed from the parcel of real property on which the building was situation or used as fill for purposes of grading, the parcel shall be assessed for purposes of property tax as of the date of such demolition, removal, and grading are completed to the satisfaction of the building inspector and tax assessor, and the assessment shall reflect a determination of the assessed value of the parcel, exclusive of the assessment value of the building so damaged, demolished, or removed. The adjusted assessment shall be applicable with respect to the parcel from the date demolition, removal and grading are completed, as determined by the building inspector, until the 31st day of December next succeeding and the amount of property tax payable with respect to the parcel for the assessment year in which demolition, removal, and grading are completed shall be adjusted accordingly in such manner as determined by the assessor.
The North Smithfield town council is authorized to suspend this tax abatement policy for any year in which so many buildings within the town of North Smithfield are so severely damaged that granting reduced assessments for all would jeopardize the fiscal integrity of the town. This section shall only apply to assessment and taxes in the town of North Smithfield.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.