Amendment #23 to H4661

Property tax relief for 100% disabled veterans

Mr. Soter of Bellingham moves to amend the bill by adding the following section:-

“SECTION XX. Section 5 of chapter 59 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after clause Twenty-second H, the following clause:-

Twenty-second I. Real estate of soldiers and sailors who are legal residents of the commonwealth who are veterans, as defined in clause forty-third of section seven of chapter four, and whose last discharge or release from the armed forces was under other than dishonorable conditions, and who were domiciled in the commonwealth for at least 6 months prior to entering service or resided in the commonwealth for 1 consecutive year prior to the date of filing for exemption pursuant to this clause, and who according to the records of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or of any branch of the armed forces of the United States by reason of injury received while in service and in the line of duty have a disability rating of 100 per cent; equal to the percentage of the veteran’s permanent, service-connected disability as determined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs; provided, that the real estate is occupied as the veteran's domicile; provided, further, that if the property is greater than a single-family house, then only that value of so much of the house as is occupied by the person as the person's domicile shall be exempted; and provided, further, that an exemption pursuant to this clause shall continue unchanged for the benefit of the surviving spouse after the death of the disabled veteran as long as the surviving spouse of the qualified veteran shall remain an owner and occupant of a domicile subject to the exemption.

The amount of the exemption shall be borne by the commonwealth, and the state treasurer shall annually reimburse the city or town for the amount of the tax which otherwise would have been collected for this exemption.”