Chapter 221 Oregon Laws 1999

Session Law

AN ACT

HB 2040

Relating to taxation; creating new provisions; and amending ORS 307.250 and 307.270.

Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:

SECTION 1. ORS 307.250 is amended to read:

307.250. (1) Upon compliance with ORS 307.260, there shall be exempt from taxation not to exceed [$8,250] $8,750 of the assessed value of the homestead or personal property of any of the following residents of this state other than those described in subsection (2) of this section:

(a) Any war veteran who is officially certified by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States as having disabilities of 40 percent or more.

(b) Any war veteran having served with the United States Armed Forces who, as certified by one duly licensed physician, is rated as having disabilities of 40 percent or more. However, a veteran shall be entitled to the exemption granted under this paragraph only if the veteran during the calendar year immediately preceding the assessment year for which the exemption is claimed had total gross income, including pensions, disability compensation or retirement pay, or any combination of such payments from the United States Government on account of such service, of not more than:

(A) [$8,037] $8,778 if the veteran was without a spouse or dependent child;

(B) [$10,527] $11,497 if the veteran had either a spouse or a dependent child; or

(C) The amount specified in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph plus [$1,301] $1,496 for each dependent child, if the veteran had a spouse and dependent child or children, or if the veteran had only dependent children, the amount specified in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph plus [$1,301] $1,496 for each additional dependent child after the first.

(c) The surviving spouse remaining unmarried of a war veteran, but the exemption shall apply only to the period preceding the date of the first remarriage of the surviving spouse.

(2) Upon compliance with ORS 307.260, there shall be exempt from taxation not to exceed [$11,000] $11,670 of the assessed value of the homestead or personal property of any of the following residents of this state:

(a) Any war veteran who is officially certified by the United States [Veterans' Administration] Department of Veterans Affairs or any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States as having service-connected disabilities of 40 percent or more.

(b) The surviving spouse remaining unmarried of a war veteran, if the war veteran died as a result of service-connected injury or illness or if the war veteran received at least one year of the maximum exemption from taxation allowed under paragraph (a) of this subsection after 1981 for a veteran certified as having service-connected disabilities of 40 percent or more.

(3) For each [assessment] tax year beginning on or after [January 1, 1998] July 1, 2000, the amount of the exemption allowed under subsection (1) or (2) of this section shall equal 103 percent of the amount of the exemption for the prior [assessment] tax year.

SECTION 2. ORS 307.270 is amended to read:

307.270. (1) The exemption under ORS 307.250 shall apply to property any such veteran or surviving spouse may own, or have in possession under a recorded contract of purchase, on January 1 of the year in which the exemption is claimed. The exemption shall first apply to the homestead of the veteran or surviving spouse and then to the personal property of the veteran or surviving spouse. Property of the spouse of any such veteran where they are living together and occupying the same as their homestead shall be deemed the homestead of the veteran. When any such veteran or surviving spouse applies for exemption on properties in two or more counties, the total amount of the exemption allowed in all such counties shall not exceed [$8,250, or $11,000] $8,750 or $11,670, whichever is applicable.

(2) For each qualified veteran or surviving spouse only one valid and allowable claim for an exemption on a homestead shall be permitted in any one assessment year.

SECTION 3. The amendments to ORS 307.250 and 307.270 by sections 1 and 2 of this 1999 Act apply to tax years beginning on or after July 1, 1999.

SECTION 4. For the tax year beginning July 1, 1998:

(1) A determination by the county assessor that the assessed value of a homestead or personal property of an individual described in ORS 307.250 (1) is exempt from taxation is hereby validated and affirmed, to the extent the exempt value does not exceed $8,500.

(2) A determination by the county assessor that the exempt value of a homestead or personal property of an individual described in ORS 307.250 (1) could not exceed $8,250 may not be appealed because of the provisions of this section.

(3) A determination by the county assessor of the exempt value of a nonprofit home for elderly persons under ORS 307.380 that is consistent with subsection (1) or (2) of this section is hereby validated and affirmed and may not be appealed therefrom because of the provisions of this section.

Approved by the Governor June 7, 1999

Filed in the office of Secretary of State June 7, 1999

Effective date October 23, 1999

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