Property tax relief one step closer for seniors

Covington Leader
May 1, 2007

State Senator Mark Norris (R-Collierville) advanced his bill to pass property tax relief for senior citizens. The measure passed unanimously from the Senate's State and Local Government Committee on Tuesday. It is scheduled to be heard in the Senate's Finance, Ways and Means Committee next week.

In current form, the bill would allow local governments to enact a tax freeze on properties owned by citizens that have reached their sixty-fifth birthday and earn less than an amount to be established by the General Assembly. Such a provision would effectively stop increases of property tax rates for elderly citizens on fixed incomes.

As Norris stated, “This measure is important to our senior citizens. Many of these individuals have owned homes for decades. Now that they are retired and on fixed incomes, many fear they'll be forced to abandon their long time homes due to an inability to pay rising property taxes. That simply isn't fair to Tennessee seniors.”

As amended yesterday, income eligibility limits would be determined by each county's median household income for citizens aged sixty-five through seventy-four. This is a departure from the original $50,000 proposed by Norris. The change came about after opposition by the Tennessee Municipal League and a subsequent Attorney General's Opinion.

For more information, visit www.tennesseniors.com

Mark Norris Official Web Site

Mark Norris Personal Web Site

Tennesse Senate Republican Caucus

Senator Mark Norris
303 War Memorial Building,
Nashville, Tennessee 37243-0232
Phone 615-741-1967
1-800-449-8366

Email: Sen. Mark Norris