§ 1535 — Abatement

(a) The board may abate in whole or part taxes, water charges, sewer charges, interest, collection fees, or any other municipal charges or fees for utilities or services, or any combination of those, other than those arising out of a corrected classification of homestead or nonhomestead property, accruing to the town in the following cases:
(1) taxes or charges of persons who have died insolvent;
(2) taxes or charges of persons who have moved from the State;
(3) taxes or charges of persons who are unable to pay their taxes or charges, interest, and collection fees;
(4) taxes in which there is a clear or obvious error or a mistake of the listers;
(5) taxes or charges upon real or personal property lost or destroyed during the tax year;
(6) the exemption amount available under 32 V.S.A. § 3802(11) to persons otherwise eligible for exemption who file a claim on or after May 1 but before October 1 due to the claimant’s sickness or disability or other good cause as determined by the board of abatement; but that exemption amount shall be reduced by 20 percent of the total exemption for each month or portion of a month the claim is late filed;
(7) [Repealed.]
(8) [Repealed.]
(9) taxes or charges upon a mobile home moved from the town during the tax year as a result of a change in use of the mobile home park land or parts thereof or closure of the mobile home park in which the mobile home was sited, pursuant to 10 V.S.A. § 6237; or
(10) sewer, water, utility, or service charges caused by circumstances that were difficult to foresee or outside of the person’s control.
(b) The board’s abatement of an amount of tax or charge shall automatically abate any uncollected interest and fees relating to that amount.
(c) The board shall, in any case in which it abates taxes or charges, interest, or collection fees accruing to the town or denies an application for abatement, state in detail in writing the reasons for its decision. The written decision shall provide sufficient explanation to indicate to the parties what was considered and what was decided. The decision shall address the arguments raised by the applicant. Prior to issuing a written decision, the board may request additional relevant information or documentation related to the case.
(d)(1) The board may order that any abatement as to an amount or amounts already paid be in the form of a refund or in the form of a credit against the tax or charge for the next ensuing tax year or charge billing cycle and for succeeding tax years or billing cycles if required to use up the amount of the credit.
(2) Whenever a municipality votes to collect interest on overdue taxes pursuant to 32 V.S.A. § 5136, interest in a like amount shall be paid by the municipality to any person for whom an abatement has been ordered.
(3) Interest on taxes or charges paid and subsequently abated shall accrue from the date payment was due or made, whichever is later. However, abatements issued pursuant to subdivision (a)(5) of this section need not include the payment of interest.
(4) When a refund has been ordered, the board shall draw an order on the town treasurer for payment of the refund.
(e)(1) The board may hear a group of similar requests for abatement as a class, provided that:
(A) the board has first met and established a class in accordance with this subsection (e);
(B) the requests shall arise from the same cause or event;
(C) the requests relate to the bases for abatement in subdivision (a)(4), (5), or (9) of this section;
(D) the board shall group requests based on property classification;
(E) the board shall provide notice to each taxpayer of the taxpayer’s status as a member of the class; and
(F) a taxpayer shall have the right to decline the taxpayer’s status as a member of the class and pursue the taxpayer’s request as a separate action before the board.
(2) The board shall provide notice to each taxpayer at minimum 21 days before the scheduled hearing for the class. The notice shall include a description of the class and the board’s reasons for grouping the requests, an explanation of the taxpayer’s status as a member of the class, the procedure for appealing a board decision, the taxpayer’s right to decline class membership and pursue a separate action, and any deadlines that the taxpayer must meet in order to participate as a member of the class or pursue a separate action.
(3) A taxpayer shall notify the board of the taxpayer’s intent to pursue a separate action, pursuant to subdivision (1)(F) of this subsection, a minimum of seven days before the board’s hearing to consider a class request.
(4) A board may preserve and take notice of any evidence supporting the basis for abatement for a class and use that evidence for purposes of a later, separate action pursued by an individual taxpayer.
(5) In instances where a board abates in part taxes, charges, interest, or collection fees for a class, the board shall not render a decision that results in disproportionate rates of abatement for taxpayers within the class.
(f) A municipality shall provide clear notice to a taxpayer of the ability to request tax abatement, and how to request abatement, at the same time as a municipality attempts to collect a municipal fee or interest for delinquent taxes, water charges, sewer charges, or tax collection.
(g) The legislative body of a municipality by a majority vote may abate de minimis amounts of taxes for purposes of reconciling municipal accounts according to generally accepted accounting principles. (Amended 1975, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1989, No. 149 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 24, 1990; 1991, No. 19; 1995, No. 149 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1999, No. 49, § 83, eff. June 2, 1999; 1999, No. 159 (Adj. Sess.), § 24, eff. May 29, 2000; 2001, No. 140 (Adj. Sess.), § 30, eff. June 21, 2002; 2003, No. 76 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. Feb. 17, 2004; 2005, No. 14, §§ 6, 7, eff. May 3, 2005; 2011, No. 155 (Adj. Sess.), § 6; 2017, No. 130 (Adj. Sess.), § 13; 2023, No. 106 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 13, 2024.)