2000 Legislation
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HOUSE BILL NO. 426 – Proprty tax/circuit brkr relief/age

HOUSE BILL NO. 426

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Daily Data Tracking History



H0426.......................................by ROBISON, SHEPHERD, STOICHEFF
PROPERTY TAX - CIRCUIT BREAKER RELIEF - Amends existing law regarding
circuit breaker property tax relief to reduce, over a five-year period, the
age for an eligible claimant to 62 years.
                                                                        
01/21    House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
01/24    Rpt prt - to Rev/Tax

Bill Text


 H0426
                                                                        
                                                                        
  ||||              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ||||
 Fifty-fifth Legislature                  Second Regular Session - 2000
                                                                        
                                                                        
                              IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                                                                        
                                     HOUSE BILL NO. 426
                                                                        
                             BY ROBISON, SHEPHERD AND STOICHEFF
                                                                        
  1                                        AN ACT
  2    RELATING TO THE CIRCUIT BREAKER TAX RELIEF LAW; AMENDING SECTION 63-701, IDAHO
  3        CODE, TO REVISE THE DEFINITION OF "CLAIMANT"; DECLARING AN  EMERGENCY  AND
  4        PROVIDING RETROACTIVE APPLICATION.
                                                                        
  5    Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
                                                                        
  6        SECTION  1.  That  Section  63-701, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
  7    amended to read as follows:
                                                                        
  8        63-701.  DEFINITIONS. As used in this chapter:
  9        (1)  "Claimant" means a person who has filed a claim under the  provisions
 10    of  sections  63-701 through 63-710, Idaho Code. Except as provided in section
 11    63-702(2), Idaho Code, on January 1 of the year in which the claim was filed a
 12    claimant must be an owner of a homestead and be:
 13        (a)  Not less than sixty-five (65) years old during  tax  year  2000,  not
 14        less  than  sixty-four  (64) years old during tax year 2001, not less than
 15        sixty-three (63) years old during tax year 2003 and not less  than  sixty-
 16        two (62) years old during tax year 2005 and thereafter; or
 17        (b)  A fatherless or motherless child under the age of eighteen (18) years
 18        of age; or
 19        (c)  A widow or widower; or
 20        (d)  A  disabled  person who is recognized as disabled by the social secu-
 21        rity administration pursuant to title 42 of the United States Code, or  by
 22        the  railroad  retirement  board pursuant to title 45 of the United States
 23        Code, or by the office of management and budget pursuant to title 5 of the
 24        United States Code; or
 25        (e)  A disabled veteran of any war engaged in by the United States,  whose
 26        disability  is recognized as a service-connected disability of a degree of
 27        ten percent (10%) or more, or who has a pension  for  nonservice-connected
 28        disabilities,  in accordance with laws and regulations administered by the
 29        United States veterans administration; or
 30        (f)  A person as specified in 42 USC 1701,  who  was  or  is  entitled  to
 31        receive benefits because he is known to have been taken by a hostile force
 32        as a prisoner, hostage or otherwise; or
 33        (g)  Blind.
 34        (2)  "Homestead"  means  the  dwelling, owner-occupied by the claimant and
 35    used as the primary dwelling place of the claimant and occupied by any members
 36    of the household as their home, and so much of the land  surrounding  it,  not
 37    exceeding one (1) acre, as is reasonably necessary for the use of the dwelling
 38    as  a home. It may consist of a part of a multidwelling or multipurpose build-
 39    ing and part of the land upon which it is built. Homestead  does  not  include
 40    personal property such as furniture, furnishings or appliances, but a manufac-
 41    tured home may be a homestead.
 42        (3)  "Household"  means the claimant and any person or persons who live in
 43    the same dwelling, and share its furnishings, facilities,   accommodations  or
                                                                        
                                           2
                                                                        
  1    expenses.  The  term includes any person owing a duty of support to the appli-
  2    cant pursuant to section 32-1002, Idaho Code, unless the person qualifies as a
  3    "nonhousehold member" pursuant to subsection (6) of  this  section.  The  term
  4    does  not include bona fide lessees, tenants, or roomers and  boarders on con-
  5    tract. "Household" includes persons described in  subsection  (9)(b)  of  this
  6    section.
  7        (4)  "Household  income"  means  all  income  received by all persons of a
  8    household in a calendar year while members of the household.
  9        (5)  "Income" means the sum of federal adjusted gross income as defined in
 10    the internal revenue code, as defined in section 63-3004, Idaho Code,  and  to
 11    the  extent  not  already  included in federal adjusted gross income, alimony,
 12    support money, income from inheritances, nontaxable strike benefits, the  non-
 13    taxable  amount  of  any  individual  retirement  account, pension or annuity,
 14    (including railroad retirement benefits, all payments received under the  fed-
 15    eral social security act, state unemployment insurance laws, and veterans dis-
 16    ability  pensions and compensation, excluding rollovers as provided in section
 17    402 or 403 of the internal revenue code), nontaxable  interest  received  from
 18    the  federal  government or any of its instrumentalities or a state government
 19    or any of its instrumentalities, worker's compensation and the gross amount of
 20    loss of earnings insurance. It does not include capital gains, gifts from non-
 21    governmental sources or inheritances. To the extent not  reimbursed,  cost  of
 22    medical care as defined in section 213(d) of the internal revenue code, incur-
 23    red  by  the  household may be deducted from income. "Income" does not include
 24    veterans disability pensions received by  a  person  described  in  subsection
 25    (1)(e)  who  is  a claimant or a claimant's spouse, provided however, that the
 26    disability pension is received pursuant to a service-connected disability of a
 27    degree of forty percent (40%) or more. Documentation of medical  expenses  may
 28    be  required  by the county assessor, board of equalization and state tax com-
 29    mission. "Income" shall be that received in the calendar year immediately pre-
 30    ceding the year in which a claim is filed. Where a claimant does  not  file  a
 31    federal  tax return the claimant's federal adjusted gross income, for purposes
 32    of this section, shall be an  income  equivalent  to  federal  adjusted  gross
 33    income had the claimant filed a federal tax return.
 34        (6)  "Nonhousehold member" means any nonspouse who lives in the claimant's
 35    dwelling  for  the  purpose  of providing protective oversight, caregiving, or
 36    personal care services to the claimant, or who is receiving  disability  bene-
 37    fits  pursuant to subsection (1)(d) or (e) of this section, or who is over age
 38    sixty-five (65) and lives in the claimant's dwelling and  receives  protective
 39    oversight, caregiving or personal care services provided by the claimant.
 40        (7)  "Occupied" means actual use and possession.
 41        (8)  "Owner"  means a person holding title in fee simple or holding a cer-
 42    tificate of motor vehicle title (either of which may be subject  to  mortgage,
 43    deed of trust or other lien) or who has retained or been granted a life estate
 44    or  who is a person entitled to file a claim under section 63-702, Idaho Code.
 45    "Owner" shall also include any person who as grantor created  a  revocable  or
 46    irrevocable  trust and named himself as beneficiary of that trust, or who is a
 47    partner of a limited partnership, member of a  limited  liability  company  or
 48    shareholder  of  a corporation which holds title in fee simple or holds a cer-
 49    tificate of motor vehicle title and who has retained or been  granted  a  life
 50    estate.  "Owner" shall not include any person that otherwise occupies property
 51    as beneficiary of a trust. "Owner" includes a vendee  in  possession  under  a
 52    land  sale  contract.  Any partial ownership shall be considered ownership for
 53    determining qualification for property tax reduction  benefits,  however,  the
 54    amount  of  property tax reduction under section 63-704, Idaho Code, and rules
 55    promulgated pursuant to section 63-705, Idaho Code, shall be computed  on  the
                                                                        
                                           3
                                                                        
  1    value  of  the claimant's partial ownership. "Partial ownership," for the pur-
  2    poses of this section, means any one (1) person's ownership when  property  is
  3    owned  by  more than one (1) person. The combined community property interests
  4    of both spouses shall not be considered partial  ownership.  The  proportional
  5    reduction  required  under this subsection shall  not apply to community prop-
  6    erty interests. Where title to property is held by a person who has died with-
  7    out timely filing a claim for property tax reduction, the estate shall be  the
  8    "owner."
  9        (9)  (a) "Primary  dwelling  place" means the claimant's dwelling place on
 10        January 1 of the year for which the claim is made. The  primary   dwelling
 11        place  is the single place where a claimant has his true, fixed and perma-
 12        nent home and principal establishment, and to which whenever the  individ-
 13        ual is absent he has the intention of returning. A claimant must establish
 14        the  dwelling  to which the claim relates as his primary dwelling place by
 15        clear and convincing evidence or by  establishing  that  the  dwelling  is
 16        where the claimant resided on January 1 and:
 17             (i)   At least six (6) months during the prior year; or
 18             (ii)  The  majority  of  the  time the claimant owned the dwelling if
 19             owned by the claimant less than one (1) year; or
 20             (iii) The majority of the time after the claimant first occupied  the
 21             dwelling if occupied by the claimant less than one (1) year.
 22        (b)  Notwithstanding  the  provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection,
 23        the property upon which the claimant makes application shall be deemed  to
 24        be  the  claimant's  primary  dwelling  place if the claimant is otherwise
 25        qualified and resides in a care facility and does not allow  the  property
 26        upon  which  the  claimant  has made application to be occupied by persons
 27        paying a consideration to occupy the dwelling.  A  claimant's  spouse  who
 28        resides  in  a  care  facility shall be deemed to reside at the claimant's
 29        primary dwelling place and to be a part of  the  claimant's  household.  A
 30        care  facility  is a hospital, skilled nursing facility, intermediate care
 31        facility or intermediate  care  facility  for  the  mentally  retarded  as
 32        defined  in  section 39-1301, Idaho Code, or a facility as defined in sec-
 33        tion 39-3302(16), Idaho Code, or a dwelling other than the  one  (1)  upon
 34        which  the  applicant  makes application where a claimant who is unable to
 35        reside in the dwelling upon  which  the  application  is  made  lives  and
 36        receives help in daily living, protection and security.
                                                                        
 37        SECTION  2.  An  emergency  existing  therefor,  which emergency is hereby
 38    declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its
 39    passage and approval, and retroactively to January 1, 2000.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact


                       STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
                         RS 09490CI

This legislation would, over a period of six years, extend 
eligibility for the circuit breaker from age 65 to 62. It 
would be available to people who are near retirement age and 
who have annual household income of under $20,000. The idea 
is to offset part of the taxes for schools for a larger number 
of Idahoans who have limited income and are most in need of 
such property tax relief. As of the year 2001 people would be 
eligible at age 64, as of 2003 at age 63 and as of 2005 at age 
62. Approximately 1,400 households would become eligible with 
each one-year age adjustment.

                                 FISCAL IMPACT

The cost to the general fund would be approximately $650,000 the 
first year, an additional $650,000 in 2003 and an added $650,000 
in 2005.

Contact:
Name: Rep. Robison, Shepherd, Stoicheff
Phone: 332-1000

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE                          H 426