Bill Caption

Fiscal Notes

No significant fiscal implication to the state is anticipated.

Bill Analysis

Under current law a disabled veteran is entitled to a property tax exemption on a percentage of the value of a residence homestead donated by a charitable organization. The amount of the exemption is tied to the veteran's percentage disability rating.

HB 150 would stipulate that the exemption also applies to a residence homestead donated to a disabled veteran from a charitable organization at some cost to the disabled veteran in the form of a cash payment, a mortgage, or both in an aggregate amount that is not more than 50 percent of the good faith estimate of the market value of the residence homestead made by the charitable organization as of the date the donation is made.

Vote Recommendation Notes

We oppose special tax benefits applicable only to a preferred class of citizens to the exclusion of other citizens ineligible for the same benefit. Though benefits such as this would only benefit a few people, the accumulation of many such tax breaks for preferred groups inevitably leads to unintended results which have a broader impact on other tax payers and the jurisdictions that rely on those tax revenues to function. 

We remain neutral on this bill because it does not create an exemption so much as clarify that the exemption for a donated residence also applies to a residence which is donated but at some cost to the veteran. This appears to be within the intent of the original law and is more of a clarification of existing law than an actual expansion of the existing exemption.