By Bob Katzen

The House gave initial approval to a bill that would change the current law which removes from a city or town’s property tax rolls the land of a large-scale condominium project during the construction phase. The bill would keep the land on the tax rolls during the constructions phase.

Supporters say that this problem is more of an issue on multi-phased projects where a first phase of a condominium development gets built, and for whatever reason other phases of the project languish.

“I filed the bill … to support municipal assessors as they assess their municipal property tax revenue,” said sponsor Rep. Joan Meschino (D-Hull). “We want to ensure that municipalities receive all the revenue to which they are entitled in order to fully provide for essential service demands.”

“This is about fairness and equity,” said Kevin Rudden, Legislative Chair of the State Assessors Association. “Communities currently lose the value and property tax revenue of a condominium project during a multi-phase project, particularly if it’s delayed. That means other homeowners must make up for that lost revenue. This fixes that so the value of the property and its revenue to the community is not lost during construction phases.”