City Owed $694K From Businesses Wrongly Registered as Tax-Exempt

City administrators found another source of untapped funds.

At Tuesday's council meeting, City Manager Peter Graczykowski reported Tax Assessor Steven Hazard found 37 East Providence properties registered as tax exempt are "fully or partially taxable." He estimates the city is owed $694,000 from those properties.

According to the city manager, 336 properties were registered as tax exempt; about 280 were confirmed as exempt and 56 were considered questionable.

According to Steve Hazard, tax assessor for the city, many of the properties have claimed exemption since the '60s, including schools and churches. Those organizations are exempt if they are situated on less than five acres of land. But if more than five acres is aquired, the city is owed taxes, said Hazard.

"There's a number of reasons why these properties are on the exempt role and shouldn't have been," Hazard said.

Mayor Bruce Rogers asked if the city would be liable if an exempt properties was unfairly taxed. Hazard said the responsibility to prove exemption usually falls on owners.

"Rhode Island case law is very strict," he said. "Any ambiguity is to be in favor of taxation."