County Mayor Matt Adcock says he wants the county to look into a property tax freeze for some low income and senior citizens. He says the freeze is needed to protect those vulnerable citizens from possible tax increases in the future.
“We all know there has been talk about building a new school and a new jail, regardless we know this county is only growing in size and in need,” Adcock explained. “My fear is that property tax will have to eventually increase to better fund the county's needs. With that in mind, I really wanted to find out if there is a way I could help the low fixed income senior citizens. Many of our senior citizens live on social security benefits alone and are not able to go back to work. I believe if a property tax increase were to ever arise, this would be the group impacted the most.”
In 2007, the General Assembly enacted the Property Tax Freeze Act, T.C.A. § 67-5-705. The act authorizes the county legislative body, by resolution, to adopt the property tax freeze program according to the statute. The county legislative body is also authorized to terminate the tax freeze program by resolution, but the resolution terminating the program cannot have the effect of terminating the program until the following tax year.
According to Mayor Adcock, in counties that have adopted the property tax freeze, taxpayers apply annually to the collecting official (county trustee) by the deadline established in the program rules, and applicants must qualify on the basis of age, income and ownership of eligible property. The trustee determines whether requirements for eligibility have been met, and the trustee's determination is final, subject to audit and recovery of taxes, including penalty and interest at the rates provided for delinquent taxes under T.C.A. § 67-5-2010, if the applicant is later determined to have not been eligible. Any taxpayer who knowingly provides false information concerning the taxpayer's income or other information relative to eligibility for such program commits a Class A misdemeanor.
Once the trustee approves the application, property taxes due upon the applicant's principal residence shall be the lesser of: (1) the actual tax due; or (2) the base tax, provided the base tax shall be adjusted to reflect any percentage increase in the value of the property determined by the assessor to be attributed to improvements made or discovered after the time the base tax was established. The base tax shall be recalculated in any year in which the actual tax due is less than the previously established base tax for the property, and the recalculated base tax shall apply until further recalculated.
"Base tax" is defined as the property tax due on the principal residence of a qualifying taxpayer at the time the jurisdiction levying the tax adopts a resolution approving the property tax freeze; provided, however, if the taxpayer did not qualify or did not own an eligible residence when the freeze was adopted, "base tax" means the maximum property tax due on the taxpayer's eligible residence for the year in which the taxpayer became eligible on the basis of an approved application. If a taxpayer reapplies after acquiring a new residence or after a period of ineligibility, the base tax shall be recalculated for the year of reapplication and reestablishment of eligibility.
To qualify for the property tax freeze, the applicant must be sixty-five (65) years of age by the end of the year in which the application is filed. The applicant must own and use the property as the applicant's principal residence for which the tax freeze is sought in the year of application or reapplication and through the deadline date for application or reapplication. The tax freeze only applies to the principal residence and no more than the maximum limit for land established by state rules. The state rules establish the maximum size limits for land which may qualify as a taxpayer's principal residence. The rules are to take into consideration lot size requirements under applicable zoning as well as property actually used to support residential structures; provided, however, the size limit cannot exceed five acres.
“In our next county commission meeting, I will be presenting a resolution to enact this property tax freeze for this selected group that the state allows us to let qualify,” Adcock said. “The qualifications were set in place by the state general assembly and not by any county elected officials. I want to do this for our senior citizens, to better protect them from what the future holds.”
