The Providence City Council may soon be able to expand property tax exemptions for veterans, the elderly and other groups, following the recent introduction of a bill in the Rhode Island House of Representatives.
The bill, if passed, would amend a Rhode Island statute that currently allows the Providence City Council to exempt veterans and other specified groups from property taxes up to a certain amount. If it becomes law, the cap will be lifted, and the City Council will be permitted to exempt these groups from an amount of their choosing.
“Property taxes are generally the largest share of an individual’s tax burden under city control, (so) providing for a property tax exemption will have the greatest impact,” City Council Press Secretary Roxie Richner wrote in an email to The Herald.
Exemptions for veterans are capped at $3,000 under the current statute, which was last updated in 1999, according to Meredyth Whitty, the director of the Legislative Press and Public Information Bureau at the Rhode Island State House.
In 1999, $3,000 had the same buying power as roughly $5,600 does today, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The City Council has stated that they want to raise the exemptions, but they have not specified by how much.
“I welcome the bill as long as it can lead to substantive change,” Jonathon Thomas ’28, an Army veteran who owns property in Providence, wrote in an email to The Herald.
“I am most curious as to where that would start and how it would be different from the current Providence policy,” he added.
The Special Commission on Veterans Affairs — which is chaired by Councilor Juan Pichardo (Ward 9) and includes several other government officials — hopes the bill will “lessen the tax burden for those who have honorably served their country in the armed forces,” according to a press release about the measure.
“This is a simple change that will provide real relief to our city’s veterans,” Pichardo said in a statement sent to The Herald. There are approximately 3,300 veterans residing in Providence.
“Veterans have made significant sacrifices to our country as well as this state,” Rhode Island’s Director of Veterans Affairs Kasim Yarn said in an interview with The Herald. Yarn is also a member of the Special Commission on Veterans Affairs.
“This is one of those initiatives that we thank our veterans for their service, and we do that by taking action,” he added.
Both Pichardo and Yarn are military veterans. Pichardo served for 22 years in the R.I. Air National Guard, and Yarn served for 20 years in the U.S. Navy.
Disabled or blind individuals and residents over the age of 65 will also be eligible for increased tax exemptions.
“Many Providence residents, particularly veterans, the disabled and the elderly on fixed incomes, are struggling on a daily basis,” wrote State Representative Nathan Biah (D-Providence), who co-sponsored the bill in the R.I. House of Representatives, in an email to The Herald.
Biah wrote that the bill offers residents tax relief “to help them keep more money in their pockets to afford daily necessities.”
The bill has widespread support from other Providence officials.
“Expanding the property tax exemption for Providence veterans is one of Mayor (Brett) Smiley’s legislative priorities this year,” Smiley’s press secretary Anthony Vega wrote in an email to The Herald.
The bill has been referred to the R.I. House Municipal Government and Housing Committee. If it passes the General Assembly, it will go to Gov. Dan McKee’s office.
Lev Kotler-Berkowitz is a sophomore senior staff writer covering city and state politics. He is from the Boston area and is concentrating in Political Science and Economics. In his free time, Lev can be found playing baseball or running around with his dog.
