HB 1451 – AS INTRODUCED
2012 SESSION
10/05
HOUSE BILL 1451
AN ACT establishing a statewide property tax credit for a resident maintaining a personal vegetable garden.
SPONSORS: Rep. Malone, Belk 5; Rep. Cohn, Merr 6
COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government
This bill establishes a property tax credit for persons maintaining a vegetable garden on their residential property for personal or local consumption.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12-2291
10/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve
AN ACT establishing a statewide property tax credit for a resident maintaining a personal vegetable garden.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Property Taxation; Vegetable Garden Tax Credit. Amend RSA 72 by inserting after section 37-c the following new section:
72:37-d Vegetable Garden Tax Credit.
I. Any person owning residential property who maintains on his or her property, within the period of the property tax year, a vegetable garden of at least 100 square feet consisting of vegetables grown for personal or local consumption, shall be entitled to receive a credit to be deducted from his or her tax bill in the amount of $75.
II. In order to qualify under this section, the vegetable garden shall not be intended as a business venture, except that produce from the vegetable garden may be sold at a farmer’s market or farm stand.
III. The department of revenue administration shall adopt a form for a simplified application with attached photograph for the credit established in this section.
2 Property Taxation; Definitions; Ownership of Real Estate. 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, 37-d, 38-a, 39-a, 62, 66, and 70, the ownership of real estate, as expressed by such words as “owner,” “owned” or “own,” shall include those who have placed their property in a grantor/revocable trust or who have equitable title or the beneficial interest for life in the subject property.
3 Application Procedure. 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, 37-d, 38-b, 39-b, 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:
4 Appeal. 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, 37-d, 38-a, 38-b, 39-a, 39-b, 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.
5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect April 1, 2012.