Revision: March 21, 2012, midnight
SB 382-FN-LOCAL – AS INTRODUCED
2012 SESSION
10/09
SENATE BILL 382-FN-LOCAL
AN ACT allowing changes to property assessments for damaged buildings or for new construction.
SPONSORS: Sen. Forrester, Dist 2; Sen. Boutin, Dist 16; Sen. Barnes, Jr., Dist 17; Rep. Accornero, Belk 4; Rep. Chandler, Carr 1; Rep. Greemore, Belk 3
This bill requires that a building damaged by fire or natural disaster shall have a reduced assessment applied for the remainder of the property tax year. This bill also requires that new construction shall be assessed at its improved value for the prorated part of the year in which it is completed.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12-2862
10/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve
AN ACT allowing changes to property assessments for damaged buildings or for new construction.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Property Tax Year. Amend RSA 76:2 to read as follows:
76:2 Property Tax Year. The property tax year shall be April 1 to March 31 and all property taxes shall be assessed on the inventory taken in April of that year, except for changed assessments on damaged buildings under RSA 76:21 or new construction under RSA 76:22.
2 New Subdivision; Changed Assessment for Buildings. Amend RSA 76 by inserting after section 20 the following new subdivision:
Changed Assessment for Buildings
76:21 Reduced Assessment for Damaged Buildings.
I. Whenever, after the first day of the property tax year a building is damaged and remains damaged due to fire or natural disaster as to require reconstruction of 75 percent 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 75 percent or more demolition of the building, the parcel shall be assessed for purposes of property tax as of the date determined by the building inspector, if any, 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.
II. The reduced assessment shall apply with respect to the parcel from the date determined by the building inspector, if any, and tax assessor, until the end of the current property tax year and the amount of property tax payable with respect to the parcel for the assessment year is reduced accordingly in the manner determined by the assessor. Any tax due for the year shall be abated for the prorated portion of the remainder of the property tax year.
III. The municipal assessing officials are authorized to suspend the tax abatement requirement for any year in which so many buildings within the town or city are so severely damaged that granting reduced assessments for all would jeopardize the fiscal integrity of the municipality.
76:22 Assessment of New Construction.
I. Completed new construction of real estate completed after the first day of the property tax year is liable for the payment of property 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 the earlier, prorated for the assessment year in which the new construction is completed. The prorated tax is computed on the basis of the current year’s applicable rate of tax 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.
II. The building inspector issuing the certificate shall, within 10 days after issuing the certificate, notify, in writing, the assessor of the issuance of the certificate of occupancy.
III. Not later than 90 days after 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 inventory 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 first day of the property tax year immediately following and shall add the increment as so prorated to the inventory for immediately preceding first day of the property tax year and shall within 5 days notify the record owner and tax collector of the additional assessment.
IV. Any person claiming to be aggrieved by the action of the assessor may, within 60 days of notice of the additional assessment appeal to the assessing officials in writing for an abatement from the assessment. If the assessing officials neglect or refuse to abate, an owner may, at the owner’s election within 6 months of notice of such tax and not afterwards, petition the superior court of the county where the operation took place, or the board of tax and land appeals. A petition to the board of tax and land appeals shall be accompanied with a $65 filing fee.
V. Upon receipt of the notice from the assessor, the tax collector shall within 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 under RSA 80 as other local taxes and subject to the same liens and processes of collection.
VI. Nothing in this section authorizes the collection of taxes twice in respect of the land upon which the new construction is located.
VII. The tax collected under this section shall be paid by the tax collectors into their respective treasuries for the general use of the city or town.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect April 1, 2012.
LBAO
12-2862
12/21/11
SB 382-FN-LOCAL - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT allowing changes to property assessments for damaged buildings or for new construction.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Office of Legislative Budget Assistant is unable to complete a fiscal note for this bill as it is awaiting information from the Department of Revenue Administration. When completed, the fiscal note will be forwarded to the Senate Clerk's Office.