RELATING TO TAXATION -- NON-OWNER OCCUPIED PROPERTY TAX ACT
Summary
S2682 amends Rhode Island’s Non-Owner Occupied Property Tax Act to create a new exemption from the tax for certain non-insulated, non-winterized properties. To qualify, the property must be used or occupied by the taxpayer during the warm-weather season, have its water supply disconnected from November 1 through April 1, not be located in a blighted or substandard area, and have been owned by the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s family for more than 25 years.
The bill also preserves existing exemptions and clarifies that the non-owner occupied property tax does not apply to properties rented for more than 183 days in the prior taxable year or otherwise already subject to the chapter governing rental property taxation. The act would take effect immediately upon passage.
Impact
If enacted, the bill would narrow the reach of Chapter 44-72 by exempting a specific class of long-held, seasonal, non-winterized properties from the non-owner occupied property tax. It would affect property owners who keep older seasonal homes or similar properties in use during part of the year, while leaving intact existing exemptions for rental properties and other properties already covered by related tax provisions.
Sentiment
The available record shows no committee transcript or vote history, so there is no documented debate or recorded sentiment from lawmakers in the materials provided. Based on the bill text and caption, the measure appears to be framed as a targeted tax exemption rather than a broad policy change, but the official legislative record here does not show support or opposition.
Contention
The main policy issue is the scope of the exemption: the bill favors properties that are non-insulated and non-winterized, are not in blighted or substandard areas, and have been in the same family for at least 25 years. That structure could prompt concern about whether the exemption is too narrow, too generous to long-term property owners, or difficult to administer. Another possible point of contention is the interaction with the existing non-owner occupied property tax and rental-property tax rules, though no specific objections are documented in the provided materials.
Imposes a property tax on non-owner occupied residential properties assessed worth at one million dollars ($1,000,000) and less than two million dollars ($2,000,000) and a higher tax on properties assessed at two million dollars ($2,000,000) or more.
Imposes a non-owner occupied property tax on residential properties assessed in excess of eight hundred thousand dollars ($800,000) at variable rates dependent on values assessed by local tax assessors.
Imposes a non-owner occupied property tax on residential properties assessed in excess of eight hundred thousand dollars ($800,000) at variable rates dependent on values assessed by local tax assessors.
Allows the town of Middletown to adopt a tax classification plan for residential real estate which divides the class into non-owner and owner-occupied properties with separate tax rates.
Allows the town of Middletown to adopt a tax classification plan for residential real estate which divides the class into non-owner and owner-occupied properties with separate tax rates.