Amendments deal with tax breaks for disabled homeowners

Published: Wednesday, October 8, 2014 at 5:30 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, October 8, 2014 at 5:30 p.m.

Two proposed constitutional amendments on the Nov. 4 ballot would clarify how local governments grant property tax relief to disabled homeowners in Louisiana.

Proposed Amendment No. 7 Do you support an amendment to provide that the homesteads of veterans with a service-connected disability rating of one hundred percent unemployability or totally disabled by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, and their surviving spouses, shall be exempt from ad valorem taxation for up to one hundred fifty thousand dollars, and that a parishwide vote shall not be required to implement this change in qualification for the exemption?

Proposed Amendment No. 9 Do you support an amendment to exclude owners who are permanently totally disabled from the requirement that they annually certify to the assessor the amount of their adjusted gross income in order to receive the Special Assessment Level on their residences for property tax purposes?

A previous constitutional amendment granted disabled veterans an exemption on taxes on property valued up to $150,000. The language of that constitutional provision has created some confusion among local tax assessors, said state Sen. Robert Adley, R-Benton, the author of the proposed amendment.

Constitutional Amendment 7 clarifies that a disabled veteran can receive the property tax exemption if he is deemed totally disabled by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or if he is 100 percent unemployable under Louisiana law due to military service. A surviving spouse can also receive the tax break.

Adley said some assessors were not sure whether the exemption applied to veterans who were deemed unemployable but not totally disabled. The uncertainty among tax assessors was likely cleared up during committee testimony in the recent legislative session, Adley said, but the constitutional amendment will remove any ambiguity about the intent of the Legislature.

This is simply to clear up any confusion, Adley said.

A second amendment on the Nov. 4 ballot, Constitutional Amendment 9, also deals with property taxes for disabled homeowners.

Louisiana law offers a special property tax break for permanently disabled homeowners whose income is below a certain level $67,670 in 2013 and adjusted for inflation annually. The law freezes the property value on the qualifying homes to prevent spikes in tax bills.

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Amendments deal with tax breaks for disabled homeowners