An Act To Clarify Municipal Valuations of Resort Property
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1857
Committee: Taxation
Sponsors: DUPLESSIE, CLOUGH, KOFFMAN, COURTNEY, DAMON, PERRY
Amends: 33 MRSA §593

Legislative Document 
No. 1857 
H.P. 1297 
House of Representatives, January 3, 2006 
An Act To Clarify Municipal Valuations of Resort Property 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203. 
Received by the Clerk of the House on December 28,2005. Referred to the Committee on 
Taxation pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401. 
Presented by Representative DUPLESSIE of Westbrook. 
111~ 
/J1.1ll~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representatives: CLOUGH of Scarborough, KOFFMAN of Bar Harbor, 
Senators: COURTNEY of York, DAMON of Hancock, MAYO ofSagadahoc, PERRY of 
Penobscot. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 33 MRSA §593, sub-§2, as amended by PL 1987, c. 358, 
§l, is repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
2. 
Time-share estates taxed proportionately as residential 
condominium un.its. 
Each time-share estate constitutes for all 
pur~o~~a separate estate i~l property, 
except that 
a 
municipality shall assess property tax only on the real property 
value of the time-share estate. 
For this purpose, a municipality 
shall assess property tax 
on each unit in which 
time share 
estates have been created in the same manner as if it were a 
residential condominium unit owned by a single taxpayer. 
The 
managing entity shall divide the tax assessment proportionately 
among the individual time-share estates based on the method by 
which costs are allocated to them under the project instrument. 
~ch time-share owner shall pay the real estate tax assessed 
against that owner's time-share estate. 
No later than January 
31st of each year, the managing entity shall certify to the tax 
collector of the municipality in which the time-share property is 
located the names and addresses of the time-share owners, the 
units 
to 
which 
their 
time-share 
estates 
pertain 
and 
their 
respective percentages for sharing in the payment of the taxes 
assessed against the time-share property. 
Sec. 2. 33 MRSA §593. sub-§4. as amended by PL 1991, c. 197, 
§l, is repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
4. 
Receipt of tax bills; collection of money for taxes. 
~ch municipality shall deliver to the managing entity of 
a 
time-share property the bills for taxes assessed against units in 
which time-share estates have been created. 
The managing entity 
shall act as agent on behalf of the time-share owners for the 
purposes of receiving the tax bills and collecting money for 
taxes from those owners. 
The managing entity shall maintain an 
escrow account and pay the taxes as provided in subsection 5. 
Sec. 3. 33 MRSA §593. sub-§5, as amended by PL 2003, c. 229, 
§l, is repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
5. 
Escr.Q.~~unt. 
The manag.ing entity shall maintain an 
escrow account with a financial institution licensed by the State 
and deposit any money collected for taxes in the escrow account 
wi thin 10 days after collection. 
The escrow account must be 
established in the names of both the managing entity and the 
municipality in which the time-share property is located. 
A 
withdrawal may not be made from the escrow account without the 
written agreement of the municipality. 
Page I-LR2686(1) 
PriQr to the delinguency date established by the municipality in 
which the time-share property is located, the managing entity 
shall pay to the municipal tax collector all money deposited in 
the escrow account for the purpose of tax payment. 
If the amount 
paid from the escrow account is not sufficient to discharge all 
taxes and tax-related costs, due and owing, the managing entity 
£hall 
provide 
the municipality with 
a 
list identifying the 
time-share owners who have not fully paid their tax obligations. 
The munici"pal tax collector may then proceed to collect the taxes 
against those time-share owners and their estates as allowed by 
the lien procedure described in Title 36, sections 942, 942-A and 
943. 
Sec. 4. Application. 
This Act applies to taxes assessed based 
on the status of property on or after April 1, 2006. 
SUMMARY 
This 
bill 
clarifies 
and 
simplifies 
the 
assessment 
and 
collection of real estate taxes on time-share estates. 
The bill 
provides that, 
although each time-share estate constitutes 
a 
separate estate in real property, tax assessments of time-share 
estates must be based on the real estate value of the unit of 
which the time-share estates are a part and must be calculated in 
the same manner as if the unit were a residential condominium 
uni t 
owned by a single taxpayer. 
The tax obligation is then 
divided proportionately among the time-share owners based on the 
instruments governing the time-share property. 
This bill also requires municipalities to bill the managing 
entity of the time-share property as agent for the time-share 
owners 
for tax assessments 
on their time-share estates. 
The 
managing entity must collect the taxes paid by the time-share 
owners and place the money into an escrow account. 
The money in 
the account is then paid to the municipality. 
The managing 
enti ty is required to certify to the municipality the names of 
time-share owners who fail to pay their real estate taxes. 
The 
municipality may place a tax lien on the time-share estate of any 
delinquent time-share owner.