Bill Text: CT HB05394 | 2014 | General Assembly | Comm Sub

Connecticut House Bill 5394 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: An Act Concerning Property Tax Relief For Veterans.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-03-17 - Favorable Change of Reference, Senate to Committee on Finance, Revenue and Bonding [HB05394 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2014-HB05394-Comm_Sub.html

General Assembly		*Substitute Bill No. 5394*
*February Session, 2014*		_____HB05394VA_FIN031214____

AN ACT CONCERNING PROPERTY TAX RELIEF FOR VETERANS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Subdivisions (19) to (21), inclusive, of section 12-81 of the 2014 supplement to the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2014, and applicable to assessment years commencing on and after said date):

(19) Subject to the provisions of sections 12-89, 12-90 and 12-95, property to the [amount of one thousand dollars belonging] extent of ten per cent of its assessed value that belongs to, or is held in trust for, (A) any resident of this state who [(a)] is a veteran of the armed forces in service in time of war, [(b)] (B) any resident of this state who was a citizen of the United States at the time of his or her enlistment and who was in the military or naval service of a government allied or associated with that of the United States during the Second World War and received an honorable discharge therefrom, [(c)] (C) any resident of this state who served during the Second World War as a member of any armed force of any government signatory to the United Nations Declaration of January 1, 1942, and participated in armed conflict with an enemy of the United States and who has been a citizen of the United States for at least ten years and presents satisfactory evidence of such service, [(d)] (D) any resident of this state who served as a member of the crew of a merchant vessel during the Second World War and is qualified with respect to such service as a member of the group known as the "American Merchant Marine in ocean-going service during the period of armed conflict, December 7, 1941, to August 15, 1945", members of which are deemed to be eligible for certain veterans benefits under a determination in the United States Department of Defense, as recorded in the Federal Register of February 1, 1988, provided such resident has received an armed forces discharge certificate from the Department of Defense on the basis of such service, [(e)] (E) any member of the armed forces who was in service in time of war and is still in the service and by reason of continuous service has not as yet received a discharge, [(f)] (F) any person who is retired from the armed forces after thirty years of service because [he] such person has reached the age limit prescribed by law or because [he] such person suffers from mental or physical disability, or [(g)] (G) any person who is serving in the armed services in time of war; or lacking said [amount of] property in his or her own name, so much of the property belonging to, or held in trust for, his or her spouse, who is domiciled with him [, as is necessary to equal said amount] or her. For the purposes of this subdivision, "veteran", "armed forces" and "service in time of war" have the same meaning as in section 27-103;

(20) Subject to the provisions hereinafter stated, property [not exceeding three thousand dollars in amount shall be exempt from taxation, which property belongs to, or is] belonging to, or held in trust for, any resident of this state who has served, or is serving, in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard or Air Force of the United States and [(1)] has a disability rating by the Veterans' Administration of the United States amounting to ten per cent or more [of total disability, provided such exemption shall be fifteen hundred dollars in any case in which such rating is between ten per cent and twenty-five per cent; two thousand dollars in any case in which such rating is more than twenty-five per cent but not more than fifty per cent; twenty-five hundred dollars in any case in which such rating is more than fifty per cent but not more than seventy-five per cent; and three thousand dollars in any case in which such person has attained sixty-five years of age or such rating is more than seventy-five per cent; or (2)] shall be exempt from taxation as follows: (A) Fifteen per cent of the assessed value of such property if such disability rating is at least ten per cent but not more than twenty-five per cent; (B) twenty per cent of the assessed value of such property if such disability rating is more than twenty-five per cent but not more than fifty per cent; (C) twenty-five per cent of the assessed value of such property if such disability rating is more than fifty per cent but not more than seventy-five per cent; and (D) thirty per cent of the assessed value of such property if (i) such disability rating is more than seventy-five per cent, (ii) such veteran has attained sixty-five years of age, or (iii) such veteran is receiving a pension, annuity or compensation from the United States because of the loss in service of a leg or arm or that which is considered by the rules of the United States Pension Office or the Bureau of War Risk Insurance the equivalent of such loss. If such veteran lacks such [amount of] property in his or her name, so much of the property belonging to, or held in trust for, his or her spouse, who is domiciled with him or her, [as is necessary to equal such amount] shall also be so exempt. When any veteran entitled to an exemption under the provisions of this section has died, property belonging to, or held in trust for, his or her surviving spouse, while such spouse remains a widow or widower, or belonging to or held in trust for his or her minor children during their minority, or both, while they are residents of this state, shall be exempt in the same [aggregate amount] percentage as that to which the disabled veteran was or would have been entitled at the time of his or her death. No individual entitled to exemption under this subdivision and under one or more of subdivisions (19), (22), (23), (25) and (26) of this section shall receive more than one exemption. No individual shall receive any exemption to which he or she is entitled under this subdivision until he or she has complied with section 12-95 and has submitted proof of his or her disability rating, as determined by the Veterans' Administration of the United States, to the assessor of the town in which the exemption is sought. If there is no change to an individual's disability rating, such proof shall not be required for any assessment year following that for which the exemption under this subdivision is granted initially. If the Veterans' Administration of the United States modifies a veteran's disability rating, such modification shall be deemed a waiver of the right to such exemption until proof of disability rating is submitted to the assessor and the right to such exemption is established as required initially. Any person who has been unable to submit evidence of disability rating in the manner required by this subdivision, or who has failed to submit such evidence as provided in section 12-95, may, when he or she obtains such evidence, make application to the collector of taxes within one year after he or she obtains such proof or within one year after the expiration of the time limited in section 12-95, as the case may be, for abatement in case the tax has not been paid, or for refund in case the whole tax has been paid, of such part or the whole of such tax as represents the service exemption. Such abatement or refund may be granted retroactively to include the assessment day next succeeding the date as of which such person was entitled to such disability rating as determined by the Veterans' Administration of the United States, but in no case shall any abatement or refund be made for a period greater than three years. The collector shall, after examination of such application, refer the same, with his or her recommendations thereon, to the board of selectmen of a town or to the corresponding authority of any other municipality, and shall certify to the amount of abatement or refund to which the applicant is entitled. Upon receipt of such application and certification, the selectmen or other duly constituted authority shall, in case the tax has not been paid, issue a certificate of abatement or, in case the whole tax has been paid, draw an order upon the treasurer in favor of such applicant for the amount without interest which represents the service exemption. Any action so taken by such selectmen or other authority shall be a matter of record and the tax collector shall be notified in writing of such action;

(21) (A) The dwelling house, and the lot whereupon the same is erected, belonging to or held in trust for any person who is a citizen and resident of this state, occupied as such person's domicile, shall be exempt from local property taxation to the extent of [ten thousand dollars] thirty per cent of its assessed valuation or, lacking [said amount in] such property in such person's own name, so much of the property belonging to, or held in trust for, such person's spouse, who is domiciled with such person, as is necessary to equal said amount, if such person is a veteran who served in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard or Air Force of the United States and has been declared by the United States Veterans' Administration or its successors to have a service-connected disability from paraplegia or osteochondritis resulting in permanent loss of the use of both legs or permanent paralysis of both legs and lower parts of the body; or from hemiplegia and has permanent paralysis of one leg and one arm or either side of the body resulting from injury to the spinal cord, skeletal structure or brain or from disease of the spinal cord not resulting from any form of syphilis; or from total blindness as defined in section 12-92; or from the amputation of both arms, both legs, both hands or both feet, or the combination of a hand and a foot; sustained through enemy action, or resulting from accident occurring or disease contracted in such active service. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to include paraplegia or hemiplegia resulting from locomotor ataxia or other forms of syphilis of the central nervous system, or from chronic alcoholism, or to include other forms of disease resulting from the veteran's own misconduct which may produce signs and symptoms similar to those resulting from paraplegia, osteochondritis or hemiplegia. The loss of the use of one arm or one leg because of service related injuries specified in this subdivision shall qualify a veteran for a property tax exemption in the same manner as hereinabove, provided such exemption shall be [for five thousand dollars] fifteen per cent of the assessed valuation of such dwelling house and lot;

(B) The exemption provided for in this subdivision shall be in addition to any other exemption of such person's real and personal property allowed by law, but no taxpayer shall be allowed more than one exemption under this subdivision. No person shall be entitled to receive any exemption under this subdivision until such person has satisfied the requirements of subdivision (20) of this section. The surviving spouse of any such person who at the time of such person's death was entitled to and had the exemption provided under this subdivision shall be entitled to the same exemption, (i) while such spouse remains a widow or widower, or (ii) upon the termination of any subsequent marriage of such spouse by dissolution, annulment or death and while a resident of this state, for the time that such person is the legal owner of and actually occupies a dwelling house and premises intended to be exempted hereunder. When the property which is the subject of the claim for exemption provided for in this subdivision is greater than a single family house, the assessor shall aggregate the assessment on the lot and building and allow an exemption of that percentage of the aggregate assessment which the value of the portion of the building occupied by the claimant bears to the value of the entire building;

(C) Subject to the approval of the legislative body of the municipality, the dwelling house and the lot whereupon the same is erected, belonging to or held in trust for any citizen and resident of this state, occupied as such person's domicile shall be fully exempt from local property taxation, if such person is a veteran who served in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard or Air Force of the United States and has received financial assistance for specially adapted housing under the provisions of Section 801 of Title 38 of the United States Code and has applied such assistance toward the acquisition or modification of such dwelling house. The same exemption may also be allowed on such housing units owned by the surviving spouse of such veteran (i) while such spouse remains a widow or widower, or (ii) upon the termination of any subsequent marriage of such spouse by dissolution, annulment or death, or by such veteran and spouse while occupying such premises as a residence;

Sec. 2. Section 12-128 of the 2014 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

The amount of any tax which has been collected erroneously from any person who has served in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard or Air Force of the United States, or from his or her relative, as specified in section 12-81, may be recovered from the municipality to which the same has been paid at any time within six years from the date of such payment upon presentation of a claim therefor to the collector of taxes. The tax collector shall examine such claim and, upon finding the claimant entitled thereto, shall certify to that effect to the selectmen of such town or other proper official of such municipality. Upon receipt of such certification, the selectmen or other proper official shall draw an order upon the treasurer in favor of such claimant for the amount, without interest, to which such claimant is entitled. Any payment for which no timely application is made or granted under this section shall be the property of the municipality, except the six-year period shall be waived if the tax collector and the assessor, jointly, determine that such erroneous tax collection is attributable to an error by a municipal employee and is not the result of any action or failure on the part of the taxpayer.


This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	October 1, 2014, and applicable to assessment years commencing on and after said date	12-81(19) to (21)
Sec. 2	from passage	12-128