reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 59 § 3b (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 59 - Assessment of Local Taxes|Section 3b - Real Estate Acquired by Eminent Domain; Exceptions

Section 3B. All interests in real estate situated within the commonwealth heretofore or hereafter acquired by any corporation by eminent domain and all such interests in real estate heretofore or hereafter purchased by any corporation when it could have been acquired by eminent domain shall, unless expressly exempt by the charter of such corporation or by statute, be taxed to such corporation. This section shall not apply to real estate of the commonwealth or of any of its political subdivisions; nor shall it apply to real estate of a railroad corporation, which shall continue to be governed by section eighty-seven of chapter one hundred and sixty and any other provisions of law applicable thereto.
MA Gen L ch 59 § 3c (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 59 - Assessment of Local Taxes|Section 3c - Pipe Lines

Section 3C. Anything in this chapter to the contrary notwithstanding, every pipe line subject to valuation under section thirty-eight A shall be subject to taxation under this chapter as personal property, and shall be assessed to the owner thereof by the assessors in the respective cities and towns where such pipe line is located.
MA Gen L ch 59 § 3e (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 59 - Assessment of Local Taxes|Section 3e - Real Estate Owned by the United States and Leased to Private Interests; Enforcement by Lien or Sale; Collection Remedies

Section 3E. Whenever the Congress of the United States has so provided, a leasehold interest in real estate owned and leased by the United States and in buildings and other things erected thereon or affixed thereto shall be assessed and taxed to the lessee or his assigns to the extent so provided by the Congress. Payment of the aforesaid taxes shall not be enforced by any lien upon or sale of the said real estate but in the case of any leasehold subject to taxation as aforesaid the interest of the lessee or lessees or their assigns therein may be sold by the collector of taxes of the city or town in which the real estate is situated for the non-payment of the tax assessed as aforesaid in the manner provided by law for the sale of real estate for nonpayment of local taxes. Said collectors shall have for the collection of taxes assessed under this section all other remedies provided by chapter sixty for the collection of taxes by collectors of cities and towns.
MA Gen L ch 59 § 3f (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 59 - Assessment of Local Taxes|Section 3f - Child Care Facilities; Classification as Property Used for Human Habitation

Section 3F. For the purpose of this chapter and any other general or special law classifying real property for the purpose of taxation and in order to assist in the provision of child care, cities and towns shall classify that portion of any such property operated as a child care facility pursuant to section nine C of chapter forty A in the same category as property used or held for human habitation.
MA Gen L ch 59 § 4 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 59 - Assessment of Local Taxes|Section 4 - Property Taxable as Personal Estate

Section 4. Except as provided in the following section and in chapters sixty-two and sixty-three, personal estate for the purpose of taxation shall include:  First, Goods, chattels, money and effects, wherever they are; ships and vessels and their equipment at home or abroad, except as provided in section eight of this chapter, in chapter sixty B and in section sixty-seven of chapter sixty-three.  Second, Money at interest, and other debts due the person to be taxed more than he is indebted or pays interest for; but not including in such debts due him or indebtedness from him any loan on mortgage of real estate, taxable as real estate, except the excess of such loan above the assessed value of the mortgaged real estate.  Third, Public stocks and securities, bonds of railroads and street railways and stocks in turnpikes, bridges and moneyed corporations within or without this commonwealth.
MA Gen L ch 59 § 5b (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 59 - Assessment of Local Taxes|Section 5b - Appeals; Eligibility for Exemption Under Sec. 5, Third Clause; Corporations or Trusts

Section 5B. Any person of a city or town aggrieved by a determination of the board of assessors as to the eligibility or noneligibility of a corporation or trust for the exemption granted pursuant to the clause Third of section five may appeal therefrom by filing a petition with the clerk of the appellate tax board in accordance with the provisions of section seven of chapter fifty-eight A within three months of said determination. As used in this section the term ''person'' shall mean the corporation or trust applying for the exemption or an individual, corporation, or trust engaged in a business activity in direct competition with an activity conducted by the charitable corporation or trust.
MA Gen L ch 59 § 5c1/2 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 59 - Assessment of Local Taxes|Section 5c1/2 - Additional Exemption Allowed Notwithstanding Prohibition of First Paragraph of Sec. 5

Section 5C1/2. In a city or town that accepts this section and is certified by the commissioner to be assessing all property at full and fair cash valuation, a taxpayer who otherwise qualifies for an exemption pursuant to any clause specifically listed in the first paragraph of section 5 for which receipt of another exemption on the same property is prohibited, shall be granted an additional exemption that shall be uniform for all exemptions and the amount of which shall not exceed 100 per cent of the exemption for which the taxpayer qualifies, as may be determined by the legislative body of the city or town, subject to its charter, not later than the beginning of the fiscal year to which the tax relates. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, the exemption shall be in addition to any exemption allowable pursuant to said section 5; provided, however, that in no instance shall the taxable valuation of the property, after all applicable exemptions, be reduced below 10 per cent of its full and fair cash valuation, except through the applicability of clause Eighteenth of said section 5; and provided, further, that the additional exemption shall not result in any taxpayer paying less than the taxes paid in the preceding fiscal year. Acceptance of this section by a city or town shall not increase the amount that it otherwise would have been reimbursed by the commonwealth pursuant to the respective clause.
MA Gen L ch 59 § 5c3/4 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 59 - Assessment of Local Taxes|Section 5c3/4 - Residential Exemption

Section 5C3/5. Notwithstanding any special act to the contrary, a city or town may grant a residential exemption in the amount and manner set forth in section 5C of this chapter and, if such exemption is made available, a taxpayer aggrieved by the failure to receive the exemption may apply to the assessors in the time and manner set forth in section 5C.
MA Gen L ch 59 § 5e (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 59 - Assessment of Local Taxes|Section 5e - Valuation of Land Held by City or Town in Another City or Town; Certification; Appeals

Section 5E. The assessors of a city or town where land is acquired by such other city, town or district for water supply or sewage disposal or for a public airport shall, within one year after such acquisition, determine the average valuation of such land under section five D and certify the amount so determined to such other city, town or district. The mayor or selectmen, the commissioners or prudential committee of a district, or the division of watershed management of the metropolitan district commission or the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, within six months after receipt of said certificate, may appeal from such determination to the appellate tax board; and upon the approval of said board shall determine the valuation in the manner provided in the preceding section, and section sixty-five, so far as applicable, shall govern such appeal.  If land within any city or town shall have been taken from it for said purposes, and for any one of the three years prior to the taking shall have been used for any public purpose, and for that reason no taxes have been collected thereon, the city or town and the board or officer having charge of the land so taken may within six years after such taking agree as to the value of the land upon which the annual payment is to be made as aforesaid from the time of the taking, and if they cannot agree the board or officer shall notify the city or town thereof, and thereupon the value shall be determined by the appellate tax board under said section sixty-five, and said notice shall be deemed to be the notice referred to in said section sixty-five. This section and section five D shall apply to property held for the purposes of the watershed system of said division and the waterworks system of said Authority, except property situated in Ashland, Boylston, Holden, Hopkinton, Sterling or West Boylston, but shall apply only to property acquired by a city, town or district, prior to January first, nineteen hundred and forty-six, including land or property acquired for water supply purposes prior to such date by the metropolitan district commission, or a predecessor entity thereof and comprising any or all of the watershed system of said division or waterworks system of said Authority pursuant to the provisions of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority Act.
MA Gen L ch 59 § 5h (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 59 - Assessment of Local Taxes|Section 5h - Payments to Municipalities for Certain Watershed Land; Difference in Assessment

Section 5H. The state treasurer, acting for and on behalf of the commonwealth, shall on July first of each year pay to the municipality in which land regulated under section one hundred and seven A of chapter ninety-two is located, and which is not held by the division or by the Authority, the difference between the current assessment for such year and the assessment of such land, not taking into consideration the effect of said section.
MA Gen L ch 59 § 5i (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 59 - Assessment of Local Taxes|Section 5i - Exemption; Conditions

Section 5I. With respect to each parcel of real property classified as class three, commercial, in each city or town certified by the commissioner to be assessing all property at its full and fair cash valuation, and at the option of the board of selectmen or mayor, with the approval of the city council, as the case may be, there shall be an exemption equal to not more than ten percent of the value of the parcel; provided, however, that such exemption shall only apply to property that is occupied by a business that, at that location and all others combined, had an average annual employment of no more than ten during the previous calendar year as certified by the secretary of labor and workforce development or, where the business is a sole proprietorship or partnership not subject to the provisions of chapter 151A, as determined by the assessors, and the assessed valuation of which is less than one million dollars. This exemption shall be in addition to any exemptions allowable under section five. The value of exemptions granted under this section shall be borne by the combined value of class three commercial property and class four industrial property.  In those cities and towns in which an exemption is made available hereunder, a taxpayer aggrieved by the failure to receive such commercial exemption may apply for such commercial exemption to the assessors, in writing, on a form approved by the commissioner, on or before the deadline for an application for exemption under section 59.  A timely application filed hereunder shall, for the purposes of this chapter, be treated as a timely filed application pursuant to section 59.
MA Gen L ch 59 § 5j (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 59 - Assessment of Local Taxes|Section 5j - Special Assessment Policy; Historic Owner-Occupied Residences

Section 5J. A city or town, by adoption of an ordinance or by-law, may establish a special assessment policy for the substantial rehabilitation of owner-occupied residential properties listed in the state register of historic places, either individually or as contributing elements within an historic district. For such properties, the increase in assessed value resulting from such rehabilitation shall be phased in one-fifth increments over a period of five years to the full assessed value of the property; provided, however, that the rehabilitation shall meet the standards of the Massachusetts historical commission in order to be eligible for the phased in special assessment; and provided further, that the secretary of the commonwealth, as chairman of the Massachusetts historical commission, shall promulgate applicable rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this section.
MA Gen L ch 59 § 5k (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 59 - Assessment of Local Taxes|Section 5k - Property Tax Liability Reduced in Exchange for Volunteer Services; Persons Over Age 60

Section 5K. In any city or town which accepts the provisions of this section, the board of selectmen of a town or in a municipality having a town council form of government, the town council or the mayor with the approval of the city council in a city may establish a program to allow persons over the age of 60 to volunteer to provide services to such city or town. In exchange for such volunteer services, the city or town shall reduce the real property tax obligations of such person over the age of 60 on his tax bills and any reduction so provided shall be in addition to any exemption or abatement to which any such person is otherwise entitled and no such person shall receive a rate of, or be credited with, more than the current minimum wage of the commonwealth per hour for services provided pursuant to such reduction nor shall the reduction of the real property tax bill exceed $1,500 in a given tax year. It shall be the responsibility of the city or town to maintain a record for each taxpayer including, but not limited to, the number of hours of service and the total amount by which the real property tax has been reduced and to provide a copy of such record to the assessor in order that the actual tax bill reflect the reduced rate. A copy of such record shall also be provided to the taxpayer prior to the issuance of the actual tax bill. Such cities and towns shall have the power to create local rules and procedures for implementing this section in any way consistent with the intent of this section.  In no instance shall the amount by which a person's property tax liability is reduced in exchange for the provision of services be considered income, wages, or employment for purposes of taxation as provided in chapter 62, for the purposes of withholding taxes as provided in chapter 62B, for the purposes of workers' compensation as provided in chapter 152 or any other applicable provisions of the General Laws, but such person while providing such services shall be considered a public employee for the purposes of chapter 258, but such services shall be deemed employment for the purposes of unemployment insurance as provided in chapter 151A.  A city or town, by vote of its legislative body, subject to its charter, may adjust the exemption in this clause by: (1) allowing an approved representative, for persons physically unable, to provide such services to the city or town; or (2) allowing the maximum reduction of the real property tax bill to be based on 125 volunteer service hours in a given tax year, rather than $1,500.
MA Gen L ch 59 § 5l (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 59 - Assessment of Local Taxes|Section 5l - Deferral of Taxes Due by Member of the Massachusetts National Guard or Reservist on Active Duty Outside Commonwealth

Section 5L. Upon acceptance of this section by a municipality and notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter to the contrary, any taxes due under this chapter by a member of the Massachusetts National Guard or reservist or a dependent of a member of the Massachusetts National Guard or reservist shall be deferred while that member is on active service outside the commonwealth and for the next 180 days after that service. No interest or penalties shall be assessed for any period before the expiration of those 180 days.
MA Gen L ch 59 § 5m (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 59 - Assessment of Local Taxes|Section 5m - Exemption for Market Rate Units Contained in a Certified Housing Development Project

Section 5M. A gateway municipality, as defined in section 1 of chapter 40V, may, by vote of its legislative body, subject to the charter of the municipality, establish an exemption in an amount not less than 10 per cent and not more than 100 per cent of the incremental value of the market rate units contained in a certified housing development project within a housing development zone under chapter 40V, for a period of not less than 5 years and not more than 20 years. For the purposes of this section, ''market rate residential unit'' shall mean a market rate residential unit as defined in section 1 of chapter 40V. Such exemption shall be approved by the department of housing and community development, as established in chapter 23B. The department shall promulgate applicable rules and regulations to carry out this section.
MA Gen L ch 59 § 5n (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 59 - Assessment of Local Taxes|Section 5n - Reduction of Property Tax Obligation of Veteran in Exchange for Volunteer Services

Section 5N. In any city or town which accepts this section, the board of selectmen of a town, or in a municipality having a town council form of government, the town council or the mayor, with the approval of the city council in a city, may establish a program to allow veterans, as defined in clause Forty-third of section 7 of chapter 4 or a spouse of a veteran in the case where the veteran is deceased or has a service-connected disability, to volunteer to provide services to that city or town. In exchange for such volunteer services, the city or town shall reduce the real property tax obligations of that veteran on the veteran's tax bills and that reduction shall be in addition to any exemption or abatement to which that person is otherwise entitled; provided, however, that person shall not receive a rate of, or be credited with, more than the current minimum wage of the commonwealth per hour for the services provided pursuant to that reduction; and provided further, that the reduction of the real property tax bill shall not exceed $1,500 in a given tax year. It shall be the responsibility of the city or town to maintain a record for each taxpayer including, but not limited to, the number of hours of service and the total amount by which the real property tax has been reduced and to provide a copy of that record to the assessor in order that the actual tax bill reflect the reduced rate. A copy of that record shall also be provided to the taxpayer prior to the issuance of the actual tax bill. The cities and towns shall have the power to create local rules and procedures for implementing this section in a way that is consistent with the intent of this section. Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit the reduction of workforce or otherwise replace existing staff.  The amount by which a person's property tax liability is reduced in exchange for the volunteer services shall not be considered income, wages or employment for purposes of taxation as provided in chapter 62, for the purposes of withholding taxes as provided in chapter 62B, for the purposes of workers' compensation as provided in chapter 152 or any other applicable provisions of the General Laws. While providing such volunteer services, that person shall be considered a public employee for the purposes of chapter 258 and those services shall be deemed employment for the purposes of unemployment insurance as provided in chapter 151A.  A city or town, by vote of its legislative body, subject to its charter, may adjust the exemption in this clause by: (i) allowing an approved representative for persons physically unable to provide such services to the city or town; or (ii) allowing the maximum reduction of the real property tax bill to be based on 125 volunteer service hours in a given tax year, rather than $1,500.
MA Gen L ch 59 § 8 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 59 - Assessment of Local Taxes|Section 8 - Interstate, Foreign Trade or Fishing Ships or Vessels; Assessment; Abatement

Section 8. Individuals or partnerships owning an interest in any ship or vessel which has during the period of its business in the year preceding January first been engaged in interstate or foreign carrying trade or engaged exclusively in fishing and documented and carrying ''papers'' under the laws of the United States shall annually, on or before April first following, make a return on oath to the assessors of the town where such individuals reside or where such partnerships are taxable under clause seventh of section eighteen, respectively, setting forth the name of the ship or vessel, their interest therein, and the value of such interest. If the assessors are satisfied of the truth of the return they shall assess an excise tax of one third of one per cent upon such interest; and the person or partnership making such return shall be exempt from any tax upon said interest other than that assessed under this section.  In case the owner of any such interest fails to make a return within the time herein provided, the assessors may abate the tax upon such interest if he shows to the assessors a reasonable excuse for the failure to file such return as aforesaid and if the return is filed on or before December thirty-first of the year in which the tax is assessed; but no abatement hereunder shall be made which will reduce the tax on any such interest to an amount less than the sum of said excise plus fifty per cent thereof.
MA Gen L ch 59 § 12 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 59 - Assessment of Local Taxes|Section 12 - Mortgaged Real Estate

Section 12. If any person has an interest in real estate, not exempt from taxation under section five, as holder of a duly recorded mortgage given to secure the payment of a fixed and certain sum of money, the amount of his interest as mortgagee shall be assessed as real estate in the town where the land lies; and the mortgagor shall be assessed only for the value of such real estate after deducting the assessed value of the interest therein of such mortgagee. If such estate is situated in two or more towns, the amount of the mortgagee's interest to be assessed in each town shall be proportioned to the assessed value of the mortgaged real estate in the respective towns, deducting therefrom the taxable amount of prior mortgages, if any, thereon.