Opinion: Expanding Connecticut’s property tax exemption for disabled veterans

By Sen. Paul Honig, Rep. Jaime Foster

Last year, the Connecticut General Assembly took a significant step to honor those who have given so much to our country by creating a mandatory municipal property tax exemption for certain disabled veterans.

This policy ensures that veterans with a service-connected permanent and total disability rating of 100% are exempt from paying property taxes on their homes. It was an important law, which acknowledged the sacrifices of those who developed substantial disabilities due to injuries sustained in service.

Let us state clearly: That tax exemption remains a benefit that Connecticut towns and cities must provide to qualifying veterans.

However, as co-chairs of the Veterans’ and Military Affairs Committee, we worked with our colleagues this session to build on that foundation, making updates that expand the reach and flexibility of the program without weakening its core promise.

Because these changes introduced new municipal options, we want to take a moment to clear up a misconception: despite what some may have heard, the legislature did not give towns the ability to opt out of the program. Participation in the exemption remains mandatory for municipalities. Any qualifying veteran will continue to be eligible for the property tax exemption on their primary residence, just as they have since the original law passed.

What we did do was give towns and cities the opportunity to go further in supporting veterans and their families. For example, municipalities now have the option to expand the exemption beyond the dwelling itself to include the surrounding land.

We also added new provisions that allow municipalities to extend property tax relief to surviving spouses of active duty service members killed in the line of duty, a recognition that their loss is a permanent burden they carry for our country. In another change, towns now have the ability to include veterans who have a total disability rating based on individual unemployability, as determined by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

We also made some clarifying changes to the policy: we ensured veterans living in properties held in trust or with tenant for life agreements who are responsible for property taxes are eligible, while making clear that commercial and income-generating properties are not. At the same time, we streamlined the application process to make it easier for both veterans and local officials to navigate.

With all these changes, it’s not hard to understand how the new options could lead to confusion, and why some might mistakenly believe that the original exemption had become optional. That is not the case. The core benefit remains mandatory. And for qualifying veterans who do not own a home, the law allows them to apply the exemption to a motor vehicle they own and keep in Connecticut.

These updates received a public hearing and passed with unanimous, bipartisan support in both the Veterans’ and Military Affairs Committee and the state Senate. When time ran short in the final days of session, we included these provisions in the state budget — a change meant to ensure its passage in the face of a last-minute time-crunch.

Both the original exemption and this year’s changes reflect our belief that we can never fully repay the debt we owe to those who served, but we can act with purpose to make their lives easier. This tax exemption is one way we ensure that Connecticut’s veterans and their families get the recognition they deserve, and we hope this year’s changes will enable municipalities to extend even greater support to those who have sacrificed so much for our country.

 

View CT Insider Article by clicking here.