HOUSE BILL 743
47th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2005
INTRODUCED BY
Ben Lujan
AN ACT
RELATING TO PROPERTY TAXATION; IMPLEMENTING ARTICLE 8, SECTION 5 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF NEW MEXICO; EXPANDING THE VETERANS' PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION TO APPLY TO ALL HONORABLY DISCHARGED VETERANS; PROVIDING REBATES IN LIEU OF THE 2004 REDUCTION IN PROPERTY TAXES DUE FOR NEWLY ELIGIBLE VETERANS FOR TAXES PAID; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. Section 7-37-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973, Chapter 258, Section 38, as amended) is amended to read:
"7-37-5. VETERAN EXEMPTION.--
A. Up to four thousand dollars ($4,000) of the taxable value of property, including the community or joint property of husband and wife, subject to the tax is exempt from the imposition of the tax if the property is owned by a veteran or the veteran's unmarried surviving spouse if the veteran or surviving spouse is a New Mexico resident or if the property is held in a grantor trust established under Sections 671 through 677 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as those sections may be amended or renumbered, by a veteran or the veteran's unmarried surviving spouse if the veteran or surviving spouse is a New Mexico resident. The exemption shall be deducted from the taxable value of the property to determine the net taxable value of the property. The exemption allowed shall be in the following amounts for the specified tax years:
[(1) for tax years prior to 2003, the exemption shall be two thousand dollars ($2,000);
(2) for tax year 2003, the exemption shall be two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500);]
[(3)] (1) for tax year 2004, the exemption shall be three thousand dollars ($3,000);
[(4)] (2) for tax year 2005, the exemption shall be three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500); and
[(5)] (3) for tax year 2006 and each subsequent tax year, the exemption shall be four thousand dollars ($4,000).
B. Except for the veteran exemption for the property tax year 2004 that applies to veterans qualifying due to the amendment of Article 8, Section 5 of the constitution of New Mexico adopted in 2004, the veteran exemption shall be applied only if claimed and allowed in accordance with Section 7-38-17 NMSA 1978 and regulations of the department. Procedures are set forth in Section 3 of this 2005 act for claiming a tax rebate in lieu of the reduction in property taxes that would have been claimed by a veteran or the veteran's surviving spouse due to the 2004 veteran exemption for veterans who:
(1) qualified due to the 2004 amendments to the constitution of New Mexico; and
(2) paid property tax for property tax year 2004 on qualified property.
C. As used in this section, "veteran" means an individual who:
(1) has been honorably discharged from membership in the armed forces of the United States; and
(2) except as provided in this section, served in the armed forces of the United States on active duty continuously for ninety days. [any part of which occurred during a period specified in Paragraph (3) of this subsection; and
(3) served in the armed forces of the
United States during one or more of the following periods of armed conflict under orders of the president:
(a) any armed conflict prior to World War I;
(b) World War I, which, for the purposes of this section, is defined as the period April 6, 1917 through April 1, 1920;
(c) World War II, which, for the purposes of this section, is defined as the period December 7, 1941 through December 31, 1946;
(d) the Korean conflict, which, for the purposes of this section, is defined as the period June 27, 1950 through January 31, 1955;
(e) the Vietnam conflict, which, for the purposes of this section, is defined as the period August 5, 1964 through May 7, 1975;
(f) the Grenada conflict, which, for the purposes of this section, is defined as the period October 13 through December 31, 1983; or
(g) the Persian gulf conflict, which, for the purposes of this section, is defined as the period August 2, 1990 through the date upon which the president of the United States or a competent military authority declares the conflict to be ended, but in no case earlier than July 1, 1992.]
D. For the purposes of Subsection C of this section, a person who would otherwise be entitled to status as a veteran except for failure to have served in the armed forces continuously for ninety days is considered to have met that qualification if [he] the person served [during the applicable period] for less than ninety days and the reason for not having served for ninety days was a discharge brought about by service-connected disablement.
E. For the purposes of [Paragraph (1) of] Subsection C of this section, a person has been "honorably discharged" unless [he] the person received either a dishonorable discharge or a discharge for misconduct.
F. For the purposes of this section, a person whose civilian service has been recognized as service in the armed forces of the United States under federal law and who has been issued a discharge certificate by a branch of the armed forces of the United States shall be considered to have served in the armed forces of the United States."
Section 2. Section 7-38-17 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973, Chapter 258, Section 57, as amended) is amended to read:
"7-38-17. CLAIMING EXEMPTIONS--REQUIREMENTS--PENALTIES.--
A. Subject to the requirements of Subsection E of this section, head-of-family exemptions claimed and allowed in the 1974 or a subsequent tax year, veteran exemptions claimed and allowed in the 1982 or a subsequent tax year or disabled veteran exemptions claimed and allowed in the 2000 or a subsequent tax year need not be claimed for subsequent tax years if there is no change in eligibility for the exemption nor any change in ownership of the property against which the exemption was claimed. Head-of-family and veteran exemptions allowable under this subsection shall be applied automatically by county assessors in the subsequent tax years.
B. Beginning with the 1983 tax year, other exemptions of real property specified under Section 7-36-7 NMSA 1978 for nongovernmental entities shall be claimed in order to be allowed. Once such exemptions are claimed and allowed for a tax year, they need not be claimed for subsequent tax years if there is no change in eligibility. Exemptions allowable under this subsection shall be applied automatically by county assessors in subsequent tax years.
C. Except as set forth in Subsection H of this section, an exemption required to be claimed under this section shall be applied for no later than thirty days after the mailing of the county assessor's notices of valuation pursuant to Section 7-38-20 NMSA 1978 in order for it to be allowed for that tax year.
D. A person who has had an exemption applied to a tax year and subsequently becomes ineligible for the exemption because of a change in the person's status or a change in the ownership of the property against which the exemption was applied shall notify the county assessor of the loss of eligibility for the exemption by the last day of February of the tax year immediately following the year in which loss of eligibility occurs.
E. Exemptions may be claimed by filing proof of eligibility for the exemption with the county assessor. The proof shall be in a form prescribed by regulation of the department. Procedures for determining eligibility of claimants for any exemption shall be prescribed by regulation of the department, and these regulations shall include provisions for requiring the veterans' services department to issue certificates of eligibility for veteran exemptions in a form and with the information required by the department. The regulations shall also include verification procedures to assure that veteran exemptions in excess of the amount authorized under Section 7-37-5 NMSA 1978 are not allowed as a result of multiple claiming in more than one county or claiming against more than one property in a single tax year.
F. The department shall consult and cooperate with the veterans' services department in the development, adoption and promulgation of regulations under Subsection E of this section. The veterans' services department shall comply with the promulgated regulations. The veterans' services department shall collect a fee of five dollars ($5.00) for the issuance of a duplicate certificate of eligibility to a veteran.
G. A person who violates the provisions of this section by intentionally claiming and receiving the benefit of an exemption to which the person is not entitled or who fails to comply with the provisions of Subsection D of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000). A county assessor or the assessor's employee who knowingly permits a claimant for an exemption to receive the benefit of an exemption to which the claimant is not entitled is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) and shall also be automatically removed from office or dismissed from employment upon conviction under this subsection.
H. A veteran or the veteran's unmarried surviving spouse who became eligible to receive a property tax exemption due to the expansion of the class of eligible veterans resulting from approval by the electorate in November 2004 of an amendment to Article 8, Section 5 of the constitution of New Mexico and who paid property taxes on qualified property in the property tax year 2004, may apply to the department no later than December 31, 2005 to receive a rebate in lieu of the reduction in property taxes that the veteran or the veteran's surviving spouse would have claimed as a result of the exemption allowed for the 2004 property tax year. A veteran or the veteran's unmarried surviving spouse shall submit to the department documentation in the form of a certificate of eligibility from the veterans' services department for the 2004 property tax year, a 2004 valuation notice for the property to which the exemption will apply and verification of property taxes paid on that property in property tax year 2004 and any other application information required by the taxation and revenue department."
Section 3. TEMPORARY PROVISION.--
A. The taxation and revenue department shall accept and review a claim for a rebate for taxes due and paid on qualified property in lieu of the reduction in property taxes that would have been due to a veteran or the veteran's unmarried surviving spouse if the veteran had been able to claim the veteran's exemption in the 2004 property tax year pursuant to Article 8, Section 5 of the constitution of New Mexico.
B. To be eligible for a rebate, the veteran or the veteran's unmarried surviving spouse shall have to have been added to the class of eligible veterans as a result of the amendment to Article 8, Section 5 of the constitution of New Mexico adopted in November 2004 and shall have paid property tax on qualified property, as determined by the taxation and revenue department, in property tax year 2004.
C. A veteran or the veteran's unmarried surviving spouse shall present to the taxation and revenue department a certificate of eligibility from the veterans' services department for the 2004 property tax year, a 2004 valuation notice for the property to which the exemption would have applied in property tax year 2004, verification that the tax was paid on the qualified property in 2004 and any other application information required by the taxation and revenue department.
D. The taxation and revenue department shall review the documents presented by the veteran or the veteran's unmarried surviving spouse to determine the taxpayer's eligibility to receive a rebate in lieu of the reduction in the 2004 property taxes that the veteran or the veteran's surviving spouse would have claimed on qualified property in property tax year 2004. The department may require verification from the county in which the property is located that a veteran's tax exemption was not applied to the property in 2004.
E. The taxation and revenue department shall determine the amount of rebate due to each veteran.
Section 4. APPROPRIATION.--Five million dollars ($5,000,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the tax administration suspense fund for expenditure in fiscal years 2005 and 2006 to provide rebates to veterans who became eligible for a property tax exemption in the 2004 property tax year due to the approval by the electorate of an amendment to Article 8, Section 5 of the constitution of New Mexico in November 2004 and who paid property tax on qualified property in property tax year 2004. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2006 shall revert to the general fund.
Section 5. EMERGENCY.--It is necessary for the public peace, health and safety that this act take effect immediately.
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