ASSEMBLY, No. 2536
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED DECEMBER 5, 1996
By Assemblyman DeSOPO and Assemblywoman ALLEN
An Act concerning senior citizens' and disabled and veterans' property tax deductions and amending various parts of the statutory law and supplementing P.L.1963, c.171 (C.54:4-8.10 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 3 of P.L.1963, c.171 (C.54:4-8.12) is amended to read as follows:
3. No veteran's deduction from taxes assessed against real and personal property, as provided herein, shall be allowed except upon written application therefor, which application shall be on a form prescribed by the Director of the Division of Taxation, in the Department of the Treasury, and provided for the use of claimants hereunder by the governing body of the municipality constituting the taxing district in which such claim is to be filed and the application has been approved as provided in this act. [The Director of the Division of Taxation shall annually furnish each municipality with a supply of application forms for use by the claimants.] An assessor shall not require the filing of an application for a veteran's deduction under this act of any person who has filed, or shall file, a claim for an exemption from taxation under chapter 184 of the laws of 1951, on or before December 31, 1963, but shall approve a veteran's deduction for such person, if it appears from such claim for exemption that such person meets all the other prerequisites required by law for the approval of a claim for a veteran's deduction. Each assessor may at any time inquire into the right of a claimant to the continuance of a veteran's deduction hereunder and for that purpose he may require the filing of a new application or the submission of such proof as he shall deem necessary to determine the right of the claimant to continuance of such deduction. No application for a veteran's deduction based upon service in the Armed Forces shall be allowed unless there is annexed thereto a copy, which may be photostatic, of claimant's certificate of honorable discharge or of his certificate of release under honorable circumstances from active service in time of war in a branch of the Armed Forces of the United States. In the case of an application by a surviving spouse said application shall not be allowed unless it clearly establishes that:
(a) Claimant's spouse died while on active duty in a branch of the Armed Forces of the United States, having had active service in time of war, as herein defined, in a branch of the Armed Forces of the United States, or in the case of a surviving spouse of a veteran, claimant shall establish that the veteran was honorably discharged or released under honorable circumstances from active service in time of war in any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States, (b) claimant's spouse was a citizen and resident of this State at the time of death, (c) claimant was the spouse of the veteran at the time of the veteran's death, and (d) claimant is a resident of this State and has not remarried.
(cf: P.L.1995, c.259, s.1)
2. Section 3 of P.L.1963, c.172 (C.54:4-8.42) is amended to read as follows:
3. No deduction, as provided herein, shall be allowed except upon written application therefor, which application shall be on a form prescribed by the Director of the Division of Taxation, in the Department of the Treasury, and provided for the use of claimants hereunder by the governing body of the municipality constituting the taxing district in which such claim is to be filed and the application has been approved as provided in this act. [The Director of the Division of Taxation shall annually furnish each municipality with a supply of application forms for use by the claimants.] As to claims for exemption from taxation filed with an assessor on or before November 1, 1963 on forms prescribed by the director, the assessor shall not require of any person who has filed such a claim the filing of an application for a tax deduction but shall approve such person for a tax deduction if it appears from the claim for exemption from taxation that such person meets all the other prerequisites required by this act for the approval of the tax deduction. Each assessor may at any time inquire into the right of a claimant to the continuance of a deduction hereunder and for that purpose he may require the filing of a new application or the submission of such proof as he shall deem necessary to determine the right of the claimant to continuance of such deduction.
(cf: P.L.1995, C.259, s.2)
3. Section 5 of P.L.1964, c.255 (C.54:4-8.44a) is amended to read as follows:
5. Every person who is allowed a deduction shall, except as hereinafter provided, be required to file with the collector of the taxing district on or before March 1 of the post-tax year a statement under oath of his income for the tax year and his anticipated income for the ensuing tax year as well as any other information deemed necessary to establish his right to a tax deduction for such ensuing tax year. The collector may grant a reasonable extension of time for filing the statement required by this section, which extension shall terminate no later than May 1 of the post-tax year, in any event where it shall appear to the satisfaction of the collector, verified by a physician's certificate, that the failure to file by March 1 was due to illness or a medical problem which prevented timely filing of the statement. In any case where such an extension is granted by the collector, the required statement shall be filed on or before May 1 of the post-tax year.
Such statement shall be on a form prescribed by the Director of the Division of Taxation, in the Department of the Treasury[. The statement shall be mailed by the Director of the Division of Taxation with a return envelope addressed to the governing body of the municipality constituting the taxing district] and provided for the use of persons required to make such statement by the governing body of the municipality constituting the taxing district in which such statement is required to be filed and shall be mailed by the collector on or before February 1 of the post-tax year to each person within the taxing district who was allowed a deduction in the preceding year. [In addition, the Director of the Division of Taxation shall at the same time furnish a supply of post-tax year statements to the tax collector in each municipality.] Each collector may require the submission of such proof as he shall deem necessary to verify any such statement. Upon the failure of any such person to file the statement within time herein provided or to submit such proof as the collector deems necessary to verify a statement that has been filed, or if it is determined that the income of any such person exceeded the applicable income limitation for said tax year, his tax deduction for said tax year shall be disallowed. A notice of disallowance, on a form prescribed by the director, shall be mailed to that person by the collector on or before April 1 of the post-tax year or, where an extension of time for filing has been granted, no later than June 1, and his taxes to the extent represented by the amount of said deduction shall be payable on or before June 1 of the post-tax year or, where an extension of time for filing has been granted no later than 30 calendar days after the notice of disallowance was mailed, after which date if unpaid, said taxes shall be delinquent, constitute a lien on the property, and, in addition, the amount of said taxes shall be a personal debt of said person.
The amount of any lien and tax liability shall be prorated by the tax collector upon the transfer of title based on the number of days during the tax year that entitlement to the tax deduction is established. The lien shall be considered satisfied by the tax collector upon payment of the prorated amount for that portion of the tax year for which entitlement to the tax deduction is not established.
(cf: P.L.1995, c.259, s.3)
4. Section 5 of P.L.1981, c.85 (C.54:4-8.53a) is amended to read as follows:
5. The State shall annually reimburse each taxing district [for the full] in an amount equal to 102 percent of the amount of any deductions permitted by that taxing district in the current tax year pursuant to the act of which this act is amendatory and supplementary.
(cf: P.L.1981, c.85, s.5)
5. (New section) The State shall annually reimburse each taxing district in an amount equal to 102 percent of the amount of any veterans’ property tax deductions granted in that taxing district.
6. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be applicable in tax year 1997 and thereafter.
STATEMENT
The purpose of P.L.1995, c.259 was to ease various State imposed mandates. That law changed the administration of the veterans’ and the senior citizens’ and disabled property tax deduction programs so that the State took over part of the cost of administering the programs.
Since enactment of P.L.1995, c.259, it has become evident that the changes made by that law to the administration of the veterans’ and senior citizens’ and disabled property tax deduction programs will cause problems at the local level in processing the claims for the deductions. The purpose of this bill is to correct these problems before the changes take effect in the 1997 tax year.
In order to correct the local processing problems created by P.L.1995, c.259, maintain that law’s intention of easing the State mandate imposed on local units by the veterans’ and senior citizens’ and disabled property tax deduction programs, and comply with the provisions of Article VIII, section II, paragraph 5 of the State Constitution concerning State mandate - State pay, the bill will also require taxing districts to be reimbursed by the State for 102% of the amount of the deductions they grant, instead of 100%, which is the amount they are now reimbursed. The additional two percent will compensate taxing districts for the costs of administering the programs.
This bill will make full State funding of both the deductions granted under the two programs and the administrative costs of the two programs a permanent State obligation. Currently, full State funding of the deductions granted under the two programs, is dependent upon the inclusion of funding provisions in the annual appropriations act. Neither the Constitution nor the statutes make any provision for reimbursement of deductions granted under the veterans' property tax deduction program. Regarding the senior citizens' and disabled deductions, the Constitution and the statutes differ over the amount of reimbursement, with the Constitution requiring taxing districts to be reimbursed for one-half of the tax loss resulting from the deduction, and section 5 of P.L.1981, c.85 (C.54:4-8.53a) requiring reimbursement for the full amount. Enactment of this bill will permanently obligate the State to fully fund the deductions and administrative costs associated with these programs.
Increases reimbursement to taxing districts for veterans’ and senior and disabled property tax deduction programs.