Page 18 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, April 26, 2024 BHRC | FROM PAGE 17 establishes a sentence of up to 2.5 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000; increases the upper limit of the fine for criminal harassment from $1,000 to $5,000; and allows a victim to petition the court for a harassment prevention order against a person who has violated this statute. Another provision changes current law under which minors, under 18 years of age, who share explicit images of themselves or other minors, can be charged with violating Massachusetts child pornography laws and are required to register with the Sex Offender Registry. The bill allows minors to be diverted to an educational program that would provide them with information about the consequences of posting or transmitting indecent visual depictions of minors. This bill has not yet been sent to a conference committee because the Senate has not yet appointed its members of a conference committee. (A “Yes” vote is for the bill.) Rep. Paul Donato Rep. Steven Ultrino Sen. Jason Lewis Yes Yes Yes ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL EXPAND PROPERTY TAX ABATEMENTS FOR POLICE AND FIREFIGHTERS (H 2890) - The House gave initial approval to a bill that would expand the current law which provides a property tax abatement to the surviving spouses and minor children of police officers and firefighters “killed in the line of duty.” The bill provides that the abatement also go to the families of officers who “died in the line of duty.” “Killed in the line of duty” has a limited definition usually meaning the individual lost their life in an incident, accident or due to violence that are directly related to their service. “Died in the line of duty” is broader and can account for a number of medical emergencies like stroke or heart attack. "This legislation honors the sacrifice of our brave police and firefighters," said sponsor Rep. Paul McMurtry (D-Dedham). “This simple language change will assure that surviving family members receive the tax benefit they are deserving of and what I believe was the original intention of the exemption." TAX INCENTIVE FOR URBAN AGRICULTURE (H 2852) – The House gave initial approval to legislation that would promote urban agriculture and horticulture by allowing Gateway cities as well as cities and towns, with populations of more than 50,000, to exempt from property taxes any land of two acres or less that is used for commercial urban agriculture and horticulture. Additionally, the parcel must have had at least $500 in gross sales of agricultural or horticultural products in the prior year to be eligible for the tax exemption. MASSACHUSETTS CHILD AND FAMILY TAX CREDIT ing individual. If you are a Massachusetts Y ou are entitled to claim a tax credit on your 2023 Massachusetts individual income tax return if you are taking care of a dependent child, other dependent or spouse with a disability or another dependent who is age 65 or older. You can claim this tax credit if you are filing single, head of household or married filing joint on your tax return. Your dependent child must be under age 13 as of December 31, 2023. With respect to a dependent age 65 or older as of December 31, 2023, that would not include you or your spouse. The tax credit to claim on your Massachusetts return is $310 for each qualifying individual. There is no limit to the number of qualified individuals that you can claim the tax credit for. For calendar year 2024, the tax credit will increase to $440 per qualifynon-resident filing a non-resident Massachusetts income tax return, you cannot claim this tax credit. Part year residents can claim the credit and must calculate the tax credit he or she is qualified for based upon the days living in Massachusetts. A dependent or spouse with a disability is an individual who is physically or mentally incapable of caring for himself or herself and who principally lives with the taxpayer for more than half of the taxable year. This is also a refundable tax credit so even if you your total tax is zero and you had no withholdings from wages or pension income, for example, you would still be able to receive a refund based upon the tax credit as calculated on your Massachusetts income tax return. This is the first year that Massachusetts has provided for such a tax credit. It is a big help to taxpayers caring for children, parents or disabled individuals. This is in addition to the virtual doubling of the circuit breaker tax credit available to taxpayers age 65 or older. Joseph D. Cataldo is an estate planning/elder law attorney, Certified Public Accountant, Certified Financial Planner, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a master’s degree in taxation. “Rep. Vanna Howard (D-Lowell) and I filed this bill together to support small-scale urban agriculture, which expands access to healthy food and promotes economic growth in cities,” said co-sponsor Rep. Hannah Kane (R-Shrewsbury). “In addition to these benefits, urban agriculture also improves environmental health and makes local food systems more resilient. By incentivizing urban agriculture, this bill will help cities obtain the benefits of these operations.” INCREASE PARKING FINES (H 3326) – The House gave initial approval to legislation that would allow cities and town to Rep. Susan Gifford (R-Wareham), the bill’s sponsor, said the current maximum fines established in have not been changed since 2004, nearly twenty years ago. “This bill does not establish any minimum fines or mandate an increase in any existing fines,” continued Gifford. "It merely gives communities the option to adopt policies that better suit local needs and enforcement priorities.” REPLACE PROPERTY TAX (H 4271) – The Revenue Committee held a hearing on a measure that would allow cities and towns to abolish the local property tax and replace it with both a personal and business income tax to fund the local city or town’s budget. The bill was filed by Rep. James Arciero (D-Westford) at the request of a constituent, under the state law that allows citizens to requerst their local legislator file a bill on the constituent’s behalf. These bills are known as “by request” bills and do not necessarily have the support of the legislator who filed it for the constiuent. “This bill was filed at the request of Mr. Peter Barbella of ~LEGAL NOTICE~ NOTICE OF SALE OF MOTOR VEHICLES Notice of Sale of Motor Vehicle under G.L. c. 255, Section 39A Notice is hereby given by: First Choice Towing 495 Broadway Malden MA Pursuant to the provisions of G.L. c. 255, Section 39A, that on 4/27/24 at 12:00 pm at First Choice by Private Sale. The Following Motor Vehicles will be sold to satisfy the garage keeper’s lien thereon for towing, storage, care, and expenses of notices and sale of said vehicles. VIN# 4JGFD6BB3NA729879 1FT8W3DTXMED68010 1FT8W3DT7NEF76850 1FT8W3DT6NEC83862 1FT8W3DT8NEC31567 1FT8W4DT9MEC84220 1GC4YTEYXMF226009 1FD0W5HTXMEC23256 Vehicle MERCEDES-BENZ GLE 53 AMG FORD F350 FORD F350 FORD F350 FORD F350 FORD F450 CHEVROLET SILVERADO FORD F550 First Choice Towing 495 Broadway Malden, MA 02148 April 12, 19, 26, 2024 “I sponsored this bill after being made aware of this issue by a constituent who had received this tax abatement for most of his life,” said sponsor Rep. Angelo Puppolo (D-Springfield). “It does not make sense for a benefit such as this one to lose its value with the US dollar. The figure should be updated to reflect the proportional assistance that was intended to be given to blind residents.” QUOTABLE QUOTES “Utility accidents from damaged underground lines and pipes are both dangerous and costly. Calling 811 is the best way to ensure a line won’t be hit BHRC | SEE PAGE 19 INCREASE TAX ABATEMENT FOR BLIND RESIDENTS (H 4458) – Another bill heard by the Revenue Committee would increase from $457 to $1,800 the amount of the real estate tax exemption for blind residents. Supporters said this exemption has remained at $437 for more than 20 years and has not provided the intended benefit to blind residents. double the mazimum fine for some parking violations. Current law sets a maximum fine for many violations at $50 if paid within 21 days,$55 if paid after 21 days and $75 if paid after the parking clerk reports the parking offense and fine to the Registry of Motor Vehicles. The bill increases the fines to $100 if paid within 21 days, $110 if paid after 21 days and $150 if paid after the parking clerk reports the parking offense and fine to the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Littleton who is interested in ways to decrease the real estate tax burden on seniors who typically are on a fixed income,” said Arciero. “He feels this would help seniors, who in many cases have already paid taxes for many years to their local town government, to stay in their longterm residence instead of being forced out by rising real estate tax rates. This bill would essentially allow a municipality to change from a revenue stream based on real estate taxation by replacing it with both a personal and business income tax to support a local town’s budget.”
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