CROMWELL — The town’s nearly $2 billion grand list of taxable properties rose slightly this year — by $8 million, or $.38% — due to the new way the state conducts motor vehicle assessments.
Cromwell's grand list is $1.92 billion, according to Tax Assessor Shawna Baron.
“Despite the motor vehicle list going down 13%, any type of increase was nice to see,” she explained.
Many factors are at play here, such as personal property, real estate, tax abatements, new builds, and exemptions, including a new one for veterans with disabilities whose bills are 100% exempt, she added.
A few new businesses are recently, or will soon be, online, such as the Texas Roadhouse restaurant, an office building, and Arbor Meadows residential subdivision, all on Shunpike Road.
“There’s a lot of permit activity in town that shows growth,” Baron noted.
Current law assesses one-year-old vehicles at 85% of the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price. It goes down 5 percentage points every year until a car is 20 years old, when the tax bill is based on 15 percent of its value or $500, whichever is greater.
Gov. Ned Lamont is expected to consider a bill this week giving municipalities the option to increase assessments on one-year-old cars from 85 percent to 90 percent, and 15 percent to 20 percent when vehicles reach 20 years of age, Baron explained.
“Every town in Connecticut is allowed to take an option on how cars are valued,” Baron said. “It’s up to the town to decide if they’re going to choose that or not.”
Town Council members would make the final decision, she added.
An owner of a new car worth $25,000 in a town that votes to use the new schedule would be taxed at $13,860, Baron said.
A mill is equal to $1 of tax for each $1,000 of the assessed value of property. To calculate the taxes owed, assessors multiply a vehicle’s value by whatever the local tax rate is, and then divide by 1,000.
If a town has a tax rate of 30 mills, for example, the owner would owe $415.80 in property taxes, Baron said.
Though municipalities may set their own mill rates, state law says all tax rates combined may not exceed 32.46 mills.
“The grand list has a large impact on the mill rate each year,” Baron said.
If the new schedule is adopted by a town, it could mean an increase in car taxes, but it's generally determined on a case-by-case basis.
Top five taxpayers
Algonquin Gas Transmission, $64,746,899 Covenant Living of Cromwell, $56,426,090 Connecticut Light & Power Co., $36,511,880 LH Cromwell Owner (Amazon), $33,097,400 Cromwell Village Association, $24,656,940