4.__Continuing care retirement community.__"Continuing care retirement community" means a residential facility primarily for retired persons where lodging and nursing, medical or other health-related services at the same or another location are provided as continuing care to an individual pursuant to an agreement effective for the life of the individual or for a period greater than one year, including mutually terminable contracts, in consideration of the payment of an entrance fee with or without periodic charges.

5.__Cooperative apartment corporation.__"Cooperative apartment corporation" means a__corporation, whether for profit or nonprofit, organized for the purpose of owning, maintaining and operating an apartment building or apartment buildings occupied by its shareholders or members.

6.__Dwelling house.__"Dwelling house" means any residential property assessed as real property, but does not include a condominium or a unit of a cooperative apartment corporation.

7.__Equalized property tax rate.__"Equalized property tax rate" means the municipal property tax rate for the property tax year beginning April 1st of the prior calendar year, multiplied by the overall assessment ratio for developed residential property as determined by the assessor and included in the most recently certified state valuation.

8.__Exemption amount.__"Exemption amount" means an amount not to exceed $10,000 determined by the assessor in such a manner that the grant appropriation for the relevant year is not exceeded.__The exemption amount so determined must be rounded downward to the nearest $50 increment.__The amount so determined must be uniformly applied for the year in calculating rebates.

9.__Homestead.__"Homestead" means:

A.__A dwelling house and the land on which that dwelling house is located that constitute the place of the claimant's domicile and are owned and used by the claimant as the claimant's principal residence;

B.__A dwelling house situated on land owned by a person other than the claimant that constitutes the place of the claimant's domicile and is owned and used by the claimant as the claimant's principal residence;

C.__A condominium unit that constitutes the place of the claimant's principal domicile and is owned and used by the claimant as the claimant's principal residence; or

D.__A cooperative apartment corporation unit that constitutes the place of domicile of a claimant who is a residential shareholder in such a corporation.

For purposes of this subsection, in addition to the generally accepted meaning of "owned" or "ownership," a homestead is deemed to be owned by a person if that person is a tenant for life or a tenant under a lease for 99 years or more and is entitled to and actually takes possession of the homestead under an executory contract for the sale of the homestead or under an agreement with a lending institution that holds title as security for a loan, or is a resident of a continuing care retirement community pursuant to a contract for continuing care for the life of that person that requires the resident to bear, separately from any other charges, the proportionate share of property taxes attributable to the unit that the resident occupies.

10.__Municipality.__"Municipality" means any incorporated town, city or plantation in this State.__For purposes of this subchapter, "municipality" includes the Unorganized Territory.

11.__Principal residence.__"Principal residence" means a homestead actually and continually occupied by a claimant as the claimant's permanent residence, as distinguished from a vacation home, property owned and rented or offered for rent by the claimant or other secondary real property holdings.

12.__Prior calendar year.__"Prior calendar year" means the calendar year prior to the calendar year during which an application for rebate is filed pursuant to this subchapter.

13.__Rebate amount.__"Rebate amount" means the exemption amount multiplied by the equalized property tax rate.

14.__Residential shareholder.__"Residential shareholder" means a holder of a membership interest in a cooperative apartment corporation whose residential unit in that cooperative apartment corporation constitutes the holder's principal residence and who may deduct real property taxes for purposes of federal income tax pursuant to Section 216 of the Code.

§783.__Rebate allowed for property taxes paid on homestead

1.__Generally.__A claimant who has occupied a principal residence in this State during the entire prior calendar year is entitled to a payment from the State in an amount equal to the rebate amount as determined by the assessor.__The rebate amount is based on the municipality in which the claimant's principal residence was located on April 1st of the prior calendar year.

2.__Multiple claimants.__Only one rebate per homestead is allowed.__If title to a homestead is held by more than one individual as joint tenants, tenants by the entirety or tenants in common, the rebate must be jointly allowed to those eligible occupants as listed on the property tax bill on April 1st of the prior calendar year.__If the homestead is owned and occupied by claimants who are husband and wife, the rebate is allowed to both individuals jointly.

3.__Multiple residential units.__If the homestead of a claimant is a residential property consisting of more than one unit, that claimant is allowed a rebate pursuant to this section only if property taxes are assessed and levied against the residential unit occupied by that claimant.

§784.__Application for rebate;__proof of taxes paid

1.__Generally.__A rebate pursuant to this subchapter is not allowed except upon annual application for the rebate in a manner and on a form prescribed by the assessor.__The assessor may require that the application submitted pursuant to this section contain any information reasonably required for the administration of this subchapter, including any information necessary to verify the claimant's extent of eligibility for a rebate.__All applications are considered as if made under oath and a claimant is subject to the penalties provided by law for perjury with respect to false declarations.__The assessor may provide for the option of filing an application using the telefile system established by the assessor.__A rebate is allowed pursuant to this subchapter for a claimant whose ownership of an interest in a homestead is satisfied by the holding of the beneficial interest if legal title to or share in the homestead is held by another for the benefit of the claimant.

2.__Application form.__The application form must be submitted either:

A.__As part of the claimant's income tax return filed pursuant to Part 8; or

B.__On a form prescribed by the assessor if:

(1)__The claimant is not required to file an income tax return; or

(2)__The claimant has filed an application for an extension of time to file the claimant's income tax return.

In calendar year 2002, the application must be submitted on a form as prescribed by the assessor.

3.__Filing period.__Applications must be filed between January 1st and April 15th unless the filing period has been extended pursuant to subsection 4.

4.__Extensions.__In case of sickness, absence or other disability or if, in the judgment of the assessor, good cause exists, the assessor may extend the time for filing a rebate application for a period not to exceed 120 days.

§785.__Payments

1.__Generally.__Upon approval of rebate applications by the assessor, the assessor shall prepare and certify lists of persons entitled to a rebate together with the respective amounts due each claimant and shall forward these lists, on or before September 30th, to the State Controller.__The Treasurer of State, upon direction of the State Controller, shall pay and distribute the amount of the rebate as approved by the assessor.__A claim of less than $10 may not be granted.

2.__Audits by assessor; setoff.__If, upon audit of any claim filed under this subchapter, the assessor determines that a claim for a rebate has been incorrectly determined, the assessor shall redetermine the claim and notify the claimant in writing of such redetermination and the reasons for the redetermination.__The redetermination is final unless appealed by the claimant pursuant to section 787.__The assessor may set off against the rebate any other liabilities owed by the claimant pursuant to section 185.

3.__Payments made in error.__If the assessor determines that a claim has been incorrectly calculated or paid in error, the amount paid may be recovered by assessment, and the assessment bears interest from the date of payment of the claim, until refunded or paid, at the rate provided by section 186.

§786.__Criminal violations

An individual who knowingly gives false information for purposes of claiming a rebate under this subchapter commits a Class E crime.

§787.__Appeals

A claimant who is aggrieved by the disapproval of a claim for a rebate or by the redetermination of a rebate amount by the assessor may, within 30 days after notification of the decision indicating the reason for the disapproval or the redetermination, appeal that decision pursuant to section 151.__The appeal provided by this section is the exclusive remedy available to a claimant for review of a decision of the assessor with respect to the denial or redetermination of the amount of a rebate.

§788.__Other exemptions

The exemption provided in this subchapter is in addition to the exemptions provided in sections 653 and 654.

Sec. 5. Legislative intent. It is the intent of the Legislature that the Maine Resident Homestead Property Tax Rebate Program enacted by this Act replace the Maine resident homestead property tax exemption established in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36, chapter 105, subchapter IV-B and repealed by this Act.

Sec. 6. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2002.

SUMMARY

This bill repeals the Maine resident homestead property tax exemption that provides an exemption to residential homeowners from property taxes of up to $7,000 of the just value of the property. Under the exemption program, municipalities then apply to the State for reimbursement of the taxes lost due to the exemption.

This bill replaces the exemption program with the Maine Resident Homestead Property Tax Rebate Program to provide directly to residential property owners a rebate of property taxes paid on residential property up to $10,000 of the just value of that property. The new program requires the homeowner to apply directly to the State for the rebate and allows the homeowner to make application for the rebate either as part of the homeowner's income tax return or on a separate form provided by the State Tax Assessor.