ARTICLE III. - DEFERRAL OF REAL ESTATE TAX PAYMENTS FOR AGED
Part of the Code of Ordinances of Warwick, RI.
The text
Sec. 74-71. - Application; conditions for granting.#
Citizens of the city age 65 years or older, or, in the case of a husband and wife, if either is age 65 years or older with the property held jointly in both names, who are otherwise eligible and who own and reside in dwellings on real estate, excluding mobile homes and house trailers, which are not income-producing properties, if the combined annual income from all sources of the husband and wife is $12,000.00 or less, or in the case of a single person if his or her gross income from all sources is $12,000.00 or less, may apply annually for one deferment per unit for deferral of the real estate taxes owing to the city assessed for each year, and such deferral, subject to approval of the finance director, will be granted under the following conditions: (1)
The applicant must have been a resident of the city and must have occupied the subject property for five years prior to his/her application.
(2)
No tax deferral will be granted on an application for a real property unit assessed by the tax assessor at $70,000.00 or more.
(3)
The current assessment of the tax assessor of the city will be used as a basis for determining the eligibility and the equity of the applicant, and no other real estate evaluation will be used.
(4)
The applicant must have reached his/her 65th birthday or, in the case of husband and wife, one of them, on or before the assessment date of the tax for which application of deferral is made, and must apply during the month of December prior to the assessment day for each year in which a tax deferral is applied for.
(5)
Deferrals will be considered only on applications for single-family real estate dwellings which are not income producing, and which are occupied by the applicant as a permanent residence.
(6)
The applicant may choose to defer either 50 percent or 100 percent of the annual tax at his/her option.
(7)
The deferred tax shall become a lien upon the property, and the applicant may remove the lien at any time by paying the amount due in full plus interest. The lien shall be recorded by the city clerk and shall continue until discharged by full payment of all deferred taxes and all interest thereon.
(8)
Interest on deferred taxes shall accrue at the rate established pertaining to delinquent tax accounts.
(9)
Deferments of taxes will be granted if the application shall be approved, only up to the amount of the equity owned by the applicant in the specific unit applied for.
(10)
A sufficient amount of fire insurance obtained by the applicant shall be required by the director of finance for the protection of the city's lien. The city shall be named in said policy of insurance as a lienor, and a certificate of the policy shall be filed with the director of finance.
(11)
The applicant must reapply annually for each year's deferment on the unit in which he/she resides, and a token payment of $1.00 shall be paid with the application form and applied to the applicant's annual tax. He/she must submit information with his/her annual application of his/her prior year's gross income as well as his/her wife's/husband's gross income from all sources, as shall be required by the director of finance.
(12)
No corporation or partnership or other form of business titleholder shall be eligible for a tax deferment, nor any holder of a life estate or remainder interest. Title ownership eligibility shall be limited to owners in fee simple, joint tenants, tenants in common and tenants by the entirety. In the case of joint tenants or tenants in common other than husband and wife, all such tenants must be 65 years of age or older and joint in the application and the restriction of gross income being $12,000.00 or less as for husband and wife shall apply to such groups of tenants.
(Code 1971, § 21-31)
Sec. 74-72. - Taxes due upon transfer of title; exception; priority of city's lien.#
(a)
Upon any change in the manner of holding title to the property, any transfer or mortgaging of the premises which are the subject of deferred taxes, other than the taking in fee simple of a husband or wife through survivorship of a joint tenancy or tenancy by the entireties, the entire amount of deferred taxes with accrued interest thereon at the prescribed rate must be paid to the finance director and the city's lien shall be discharged upon such full payment plus interest.
(b)
The city's lien shall take priority to and shall be the subject of demand for immediate payment in full of all taxes deferred plus interest thereon, in the event of any form of insolvency proceeding being filed with, by or against the applicant or applicants, petitioning the court to creditors arrangement, bankruptcy, partnership, receivership, or any other form of insolvency proceeding, immediately upon the filing of said petition.
(c)
Upon the death of an owner in fee simple applicant, or in the case of a husband and wife, upon the death of the surviving husband or wife, the accrued deferments shall be payable in full plus the prescribed interest before this lien shall be discharged, and said lien shall rank as a priority claim against the assets and the estate of the applicant or survivor, and as a priority lien against the real estate for which said deferred taxes were granted.
(Code 1971, § 21-32)
Sec. 74-73. - Enforcement and collection of tax lien.#
All taxes for which deferral is granted as provided herein shall, together with interest as provided herein, be and remain a lien upon the real estate against which assessed, and said lien shall be enforceable and collectible in the same manner as real estate taxes generally.
(Code 1971, § 21-33)