Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, the city of New Bedford is hereby authorized to issue a first half notice of estimated tax in lieu of the actual assessment and issuance of the tax bill for the fiscal year nineteen hundred and eighty-seven and require the payment of such estimated tax, which shall in no event exceed fifty per cent of the tax payable during the preceding fiscal year; provided, however, that notices of estimated tax shall not be issued until the commissioner of revenue determines in writing that the circumstances relating to the finalization of property tax assessments in the city of New Bedford for the fiscal year nineteen hundred and eighty-seven necessitates the issuance of such notice of estimated tax and approves in writing the issuance thereof. The board of assessors of the city of New Bedford shall upon request provide the commissioner with such information as may be required for purposes of the aforementioned approval. Subsequent to the issuance of this notice of estimated tax authorized herein, and no later than April first, nineteen hundred and eighty-seven, the board of assessors of New Bedford should establish the tax rate for fiscal year nineteen hundred and eighty-seven. Payment of the balance of the tax bill after the establishment of the tax rate for fiscal year nineteen hundred and eighty-seven, after credit is given for the estimated tax payment previously made, shall represent the second payment upon such bill; that is payable on or before May first, nineteen hundred and eighty-seven without payment of interest.

All provisions of law regarding the procedures for issuing, mailing and collecting tax assessments upon real and personal property and betterment assessments shall be applicable to the notice of estimated tax provided hereunder, including the payments of interest under section fifty-seven of chapter fifty-nine of the General Laws. To the extent that any rights or remedies under law accrue from the date that the tax bill is issued, only the tax bill issued upon the establishment of the tax rate for the fiscal year nineteen hundred and eighty-seven shall govern such rights or remedies. The provisions of section twenty-one C of said chapter fifty-nine shall apply to the tax rate for fiscal year nineteen hundred and eighty-seven established by said city of New Bedford.

SECTION 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of section one of this act, the city of New Bedford may with the prior written approval of the commissioner of revenue, require the payment of an estimated tax for fiscal year nineteen hundred and eighty-seven in excess of fifty per cent of the tax payable during fiscal year nineteen hundred and eighty-six to the extent that such excess represents one-half of the amount of tax accruing as a result of the loss of exemption from tax that has been granted in the preceding fiscal year.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon its passage.