HB 1489 – AS INTRODUCED
2010 SESSION
10/09
HOUSE BILL 1489
AN ACT allowing municipalities to adopt a volunteer incentive property tax credit.
SPONSORS: Rep. Cloutier, Sull 4; Rep. Donovan, Sull 4; Rep. Harris, Sull 4
COMMITTEE: Local and Regulated Revenues
This bill enables towns and cities to grant a volunteer incentive property tax credit to persons who provide volunteer services to the municipality.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
10-2451
10/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT allowing municipalities to adopt a volunteer incentive property tax credit.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Volunteer Incentive Property Tax Credit. Amend RSA 72 by inserting after section 39-b the following new section:
72:39-c Volunteer Incentive Property Tax Credit.
I. A town or city may adopt or modify the volunteer incentive property tax credit granted under this section by the procedure in RSA 72:27-a.
II. A town or city may establish a program to provide a volunteer incentive tax credit to persons who volunteer to provide services to such city or town. In exchange for such volunteer services, the city or town shall reduce the real property tax obligations of such person for his or her residential real estate on his or her tax bills and any reduction so provided shall be in addition to any exemption, credit, or abatement to which any such person is otherwise entitled. No such person shall be credited with more than the equivalent of the current minimum wage of the state per hour for the volunteer services provided, nor shall the reduction of the real property tax bill exceed $750 in a given tax year.
III. It shall be the responsibility of the city or town to maintain a record for each taxpayer including, but not limited to, the number of hours of service and the total amount by which the real property tax has been reduced and to provide a copy of such record to the assessor in order that the actual tax bill reflect the reduced rate. A copy of such record shall also be provided to the taxpayer prior to the issuance of the actual tax bill. Such cities and towns shall have the power to implement this property tax credit consistent with the intent of this section.
IV. In no instance shall the amount by which a person’s property tax liability is reduced in exchange for the provision of volunteer services be considered income, wages, or employment for purposes of state taxation, for the purposes of withholding taxes, or for the purposes of workers’ compensation or any other applicable provisions of law, but such person while providing such services shall be considered an employee for the purposes of RSA 31.
V. No credit shall be allowed under paragraph II unless the person applying for the credit:
(a) Had, in the calendar year preceding said April 1, a net household income from all sources, of not more than $25,000. The net income shall be determined by deducting from all moneys received, from any source including social security or pension payments, the amount of any of the following or the sum thereof:
(1) Life insurance paid on the death of an insured.
(2) Expenses and costs incurred in the course of conducting a business enterprise.
(3) Proceeds from the sale of assets.
(b) Owns net assets not in excess of $25,000, excluding the value of the person’s actual residence and the land upon which it is located up to the greater of 2 acres or the minimum single family residential lot size specified in the local zoning ordinance. “Net assets” means the value of all assets, tangible and intangible, minus the value of any good faith encumbrances. “Residence” means the housing unit, and related structures such as an unattached garage or woodshed, which is the person’s principal home, and which the person in good faith regards as home to the exclusion of any other places where the person may temporarily live. “Residence” shall exclude attached dwelling units and unattached structures used or intended for commercial or other nonresidential purposes.
VI. Additional requirements for a credit under paragraph II shall be that the property is:
(a) Owned by the resident;
(b) Owned by a resident jointly or in common with the resident’s spouse, either of whom meets the requirements for the credit claimed;
(c) Owned by a resident jointly or in common with a person not the resident’s spouse, if the resident meets the applicable requirements for the credit claimed; or
(d) Owned by a resident, or the resident’s spouse, either of whom meets the requirements for the credit claimed, and when they have been married to each other for at least 5 consecutive years.
VII. Procedures for application, investigation of applications, and appeals shall be as provided in RSA 72:33, RSA 72:34, and RSA 72:34-a.
2 Property Tax Credit for Volunteers; Adoption Procedure; Reference Added. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 72:27-a, I to read as follows:
I. Any town or city may adopt the provisions of RSA 72:28, RSA 72:29-a, RSA 72:35, RSA 72:37, RSA 72:37-b, RSA 72:38-b, RSA 72:39-a, RSA 72:39-c, RSA 72:62, RSA 72:66, or RSA 72:70 in the following manner:
3 Definitions; References Added. Amend RSA 72:29, VI to read as follows:
VI. For purposes of RSA 72:28, 29-a, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36-a, 37, 37-a, 37-b, 38-a, 38-b, 39-a, 39-c, 62, 66, and 70, the ownership of real estate, as expressed by such words as “owner,” “owned,” or “own,” shall include those who have equitable title or the beneficial interest for life in the subject property.
4 Property Taxation; Application Procedure; Reference Added. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 72:33, I to read as follows:
I. No person shall be entitled to the exemptions or tax credits provided by RSA 72:28, 29-a, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36-a, 37, 37-a, 37-b, 38-b, 39-b, 39-c, 62, 66, and 70 unless the person has filed with the selectmen or assessors, by April 15 preceding the setting of the tax rate, a permanent application therefor, signed under penalty of perjury, on a form approved and provided by the commissioner of revenue administration, showing that the applicant is the true and lawful owner of the property on which the exemption or tax credit is claimed and that the applicant was duly qualified upon April 1 of the year in which the exemption or tax credit is first claimed, or, in the case of financial qualifications, that the applicant is duly qualified at the time of application. The form shall include the following and such other information deemed necessary by the commissioner:
5 Appeals; Reference Added. Amend RSA 72:34-a to read as follows:
72:34-a Appeal From Refusal to Grant Exemption, Deferral, or Tax Credit. Whenever the selectmen or assessors refuse to grant an applicant an exemption, deferral, or tax credit to which the applicant may be entitled under the provisions of RSA 72:23, 23-d, 23-e, 23-f, 23-g, 23-h, 23-i, 23-j, 23-k, 28, 29-a, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36-a, 37, 37-a, 37-b, 38-a, 38-b, 39-a, 39-b, 39-c, 41, 42, 62, 66, or 70 the applicant may appeal in writing, on or before September 1 following the date of notice of tax under RSA 72:1-d, to the board of tax and land appeals or the superior court, which may order an exemption, deferral, or tax credit, or an abatement if a tax has been assessed.
6 Interpretation by Commissioner of Revenue Administration. Amend RSA 72:36, I to read as follows:
I. The commissioner’s interpretation of RSA 72:28, 72:29, 72:29-a, 72:30, 72:31, 72:32, 72:33, 72:34, 72:34-a, 72:35, 72:36-a, 72:37, 72:37-a, 72:37-b, 72:38-a, 72:38-b, 72:39-a, 72:39-b, 72:41, 72:62, 72:66, [and] 72:70, and RSA 72:39-c; and
7 Effective Date. This act shall take effect April 1, 2010