AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS IN NEW CASTLE COUNTY.

This Act revises the property tax exemption process for New Castle County by updating the application process to reflect the current organization of New Castle County government and by doing all of the following: 1. Repealing the existing deadline to file an application for an exemption. 2. Establishing an effective date for approved exemptions that is the later of the date the property owner met the criteria for the exemption or 3 years before the date of the application. 3. Establishing how New Castle County determines and processes property tax refunds, including proration for situations when the property was owned by a nonexempt transferor for part of a tax year and clarifying that school taxes cannot be refunded through this process. 4. Requires New Castle County to review all applications for exemption from taxation that were decided on or after January 1, 2017, under the law as revised by this Act, and process any refunds. Owners of real property that are entitled to exemptions include religious, educational, or charitable entities often have limited resources and limited knowledge of the laws regarding exemption from property taxation. Missing the deadline to submit an application for exemption from property taxes causes serious economic harm to these entities. Repealing the application deadline has minimal impact on certainty for New Castle County’s budget, particularly in contrast to the heavy strain that an unanticipated tax bill places on these entities whose services are beneficial to the residents in New Castle County. In addition, limiting the effective date for exemptions to 3 years before the date an application was submitted further minimizes the potential impact on certainty for New Castle County’s budget.