HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1377 FILED ON: 1/13/2009
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2682
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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the Year Two Thousand Nine
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An Act relative to the taxation of public land leased for commercial purposes..
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. Section 2B of chapter 59 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the third paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-
This section shall not apply to the property of the United States, or any instrumentality thereof, for which payments are made in lieu of taxes in amounts equivalent to taxes which might otherwise be lawfully assessed, on behalf of the United States or any instrumentality thereof, for which payments are made in lieu of taxes in amounts equivalent to taxes which might otherwise be lawfully assessed, in behalf of the United States or any instrumentality thereof; or to the property of the United States, or any instrumentality thereof, which is used by a manufacturing corporation so classified under chapter 58.
SECTION 2. Section 24 of chapter 161A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the first paragraph the following paragraph:-
Real property of the Authority shall, if leased, used, or occupied in connection with a business conducted for profit shall, for the privilege of such lease, use or occupancy be valued, classified, assessed and taxed annually as of January first to the lessee, user, or occupant in the same manner and to the same extent as if such lessee, user, or occupant were the owner thereof in full. No tax assessed under this section shall be a lien upon the real estate with respect to which it is assessed; no shall any tax be enforced by any sale or taking of such real estate; but the interest of any lessee therein may be sold or taken by the collector of the town in which the real estate lies for the nonpayment of such taxes in the manner provided by law for the sale or taking of real estate for nonpayment of annual taxes. Notwithstanding the above, such collector shall have for the collection of taxes assessed under this section all other remedies provided by chapter sixty for the collection of annual taxes upon real estate.
SECTION 3. Section 13 of chapter 161B of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “taxation”, in the first sentence, the following words:- except as hereinafter provided.
SECTION 4. Section 13 of chapter 161B of the General Laws is hereby further amended by inserting after the first paragraph the following paragraph:-
Real property of the Authority shall, if leased, used, or occupied in connection with a business conducted for profit shall, for the privilege of such lease, use or occupancy be valued, classified, assessed and taxed annually as of January first to the lessee, user or occupant in the same manner and to the same extend as if such lessee, user or occupant were the owner thereof in full. No tax assessed under this section shall be a lien upon the real estate with respect to which it is assessed; nor shall any tax be enforced by any sale or taking of such real estate; but the interest of any lessee therein may be sold or taken by the collector of the town in which the real estate lies for the nonpayment of such taxes in the manner provided by law for the sale or taking of real estate for nonpayment of annual taxes. Such collector shall have for the collection of taxes assessed under this section all other remedies provided by chapter sixty for the collection of annual taxes upon real estate.
SECTION 5. The first sentence of section 17 of chapter 465 of the acts of 1956 as most recently amended, is hereby amended by striking out the words “commonwealth, and no property of the Authority shall be taxed to a lessee thereof under section three A of chapter fifty-nine of the General Laws; provided, however, that anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, lands of the Authority, except lands acquired by the commonwealth under the provisions of chapter seven hundred and five of the acts of nineteen hundred and fifty-one situated in that part of the city called South Boston and constituting part of the Commonwealth Flats, and land acquired by the Authority which were subject to taxation on the assessment date next preceding the acquisition thereof,” and inserting in place thereof the following words:-
Commonwealth; provided, however that anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, lands of the Authority.
SECTION 6. The first paragraph of section 17 of chapter 465 of the acts of 1956 as most recently amended, is hereby further amended by striking out the sentence “No such property shall be taxed to a lessee thereof from the Authority regardless of the date of acquisition of such property by the Authority.”
SECTION 7. Section 6 of chapter 701 of the acts of 1960 is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-
Real property of the Authority shall, if leased, used, or occupied in connection with a business conducted for profit shall, for the privilege of such lease, use or occupancy be valued, classified, assessed and taxed annually as of January first to the lessee, user, or occupant in the same manner and to the same extend as if such lessee, user, or occupant were the owner thereof in full. No tax assessed under this section shall be a lien upon the real estate with respect to which it is assessed; nor shall any tax be enforced by any sale or taking such real estate; but the interest of any lessee therein may be sold or taken by the collector of the town in which the real estate lies for the nonpayment of such taxes in the manner provided by law for the sale or taking of real estate for nonpayment of annual taxes. Such collector shall have for the collection of taxes assessed under this section all other remedies provided by chapter sixty for the collection of annual taxes upon real estate.
SECTION 8. Section 36 of chapter 190 of the Acts of 1982 is hereby amended by inserting after the first sentence the following paragraph:-
Real property of the Authority shall, if leased, used or occupied, in connection with a business conducted for profit shall, for the privilege of such lease, use, or occupancy be valued, classified, assessed and taxed annually as of January first to the lessee, user or occupant in the same manner and to the same extent as if such lessee, user, or occupant were the owner thereof in full. No tax assessed under this section shall be a lien upon the real estate with respect to which it is assessed; nor shall any tax be enforced by any sale or taking of such real estate; but the interest of any lessee therein may be sold or taken by the collector of the town in which the real estate lies for the nonpayment of such taxes in the manner provided by law for the sale or taking of real estate for nonpayment of annual taxes. Such collector shall have the collection of taxes assessed under this section all other remedies provided by chapter sixty for the collection of annual taxes upon real estate.
SECTION 9. Section 9 of chapter 372 of the Acts of 1984 is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-
Real property of the Authority shall, if leased, used, or occupied in connection with a business conducted for profit shall, for the privilege of such lease, use, or occupancy be valued, classified, assessed and taxed annually as of January first to the lessee, user or occupant in the same manner and to the same extend as if such lessee, user, or occupant were the owner thereof in full. No tax assessed under this section shall be a lien upon the real estate with respect to which it is assessed; nor shall any tax be enforced by any sale or taking of such real estate; but the interest of any lessee therein may be sold or taken by the collector of the town in which the real estate lies for the nonpayment of such taxes in the manner provided by law for the sale or taking of real estate for nonpayment of annual taxes. Such collector shall have for the collection of taxes assessed under this section all other remedies provided by chapter sixty for the collection of annual taxes upon real estate.