Chapter 572
2004 -- S 3180
Enacted 07/09/04
A N A C T
RELATING
TO TAXATION -- NEWPORT SENIOR RESIDENT PROPERTY TAX
SERVICE
CREDIT PROGRAM
Introduced
By: Senators Paiva-Weed, and Gibbs
Date
Introduced: June 10, 2004
It
is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Title 44 of the General Laws entitled "Taxation" is hereby amended
by
adding
thereto the following chapter:
CHAPTER
33.3
NEWPORT
SENIOR RESIDENT PROPERTY TAX SERVICES CREDIT PROGRAM
44-33.3-1.
Program established. – A senior resident property tax service credit
program
is
hereby established, commencing on July 1, 2004, to allow qualified senior
residents, as
determined
by the provisions of this act, to receive limited real estate tax credits in
exchange for
services
provided to the city of Newport municipal government, as described in this act.
44-33.3-2.
Age and income limits. – Taxpayers qualifying for a senior resident
property
tax
service credit must be sixty-five (65) years of age or older by July 1st, 2004
to earn property
tax
credit relief under this program. The taxpayers must reside at the property as
a full-time
resident
or residents, and have a gross annual income from all sources at or below the
low income
level
for Newport County for the previous calendar year as published by the U.S.
Department of
Housing
and Urban Development for a two-person household for jointly held property, or
in the
case
of a single person, at or below the published level as aforementioned for a
one-person
household.
44-33.3-3.
Ownership. – The taxpayer or taxpayers applying for the senior
resident
property
tax service credit program must be the owner of the respective real estate to
which the
credit
will apply.
If
the property is held in trust, the beneficiary or beneficiaries of the trust
must be the
taxpayer
or taxpayers applying for the senior resident property tax service credit
program.
44-33.3-4.
Maximum abatement and hourly rate. – The maximum credit taxpayers
may
earn is five hundred ($500) dollars per fiscal year. Credit for service will be
at the state of
Rhode
Island hourly minimum wage at the time the service is performed.
44-33.3-5.
Personal exemptions and deferrals. – Taxpayers may earn tax credits
under
the
service credit program in addition to any property tax exemptions for which
they may be
eligible
under any provision of the general or public law, or city of Newport
ordinances.
44-33.3-6.
Adoption of local program rules. – The Newport city manager may
establish
rules
and procedures for the senior property tax service credit program. These rules
and
procedures
will assure coordination of the assignment of program participants to the
various
municipal
departments where they will perform their services.
44-33.3-7.
Certification of service. – The board, officer or department
supervising the
senior
taxpayer's service must certify to the assessor the hours of service performed
by the
taxpayer
before the actual tax for the fiscal year is committed. The certification must
state the
amount
actually earned as of that time. Services performed after that date shall be
credited
toward
the next fiscal year's actual tax bill to the extent they are consistent with
the program rules
established
by the Newport city manager. A copy of the certification must also be provided
to the
senior
program participant prior to the actual tax bill being issued.
44-33.3-8.
Status of volunteers. – Senior taxpayers performing services in
return for
property
tax reductions shall be considered employees for the purposes of municipal tort
liability.
The
city of Newport will be liable for damages for injuries to third-parties and
for
indemnification
of the seniors to the same extent as they are in the case of injuries caused by
regular
municipal employees.
44-33.3-9.
Taxation on services prohibited. – In no instance shall the amount
by which
a
person's property tax liability is reduced in exchange for the provision of
services provided
herein,
be considered income, wages or employment for the purposes of taxation, for the
purposes
of
withholding taxes, for the purposes of unemployment insurance, for the purposes
of workers'
compensation,
or any other applicable provisions of the Rhode Island general laws.
SECTION
2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
=======
LC03590
=======