“This bill exempts all property owned by Native American tribes or owned by nonprofit organization organized for the benefit of those tribes from statewide education property tax and municipal property tax. To be eligible for the exemption, the property may not be leased or rented for profit and must be used for purposes of the tribe..”

— Bill Summary by Vermont Legislative Joint Fiscal Office

URL for bill: https://ljfo.vermont.gov/assets/Publications/House-Bills/feef4a15d3/GENERAL-360211-v1-Fiscal_Note_H_556_updated.pdf

Bill as Introduced

An act relating to exempting property owned by Vermont-recognized
Native American tribes from property tax.
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
Sec. 1. FINDINGS; STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
The General Assembly finds that Vermont lands are the historic and current territories of the Western Abenaki people. Stewardship of these lands was removed from the Abenaki when Europeans made Vermont a state in 1791. The General Assembly acknowledges the Abenaki people as the traditional land caretakers of Ndakinna (En-DAH-kee-nah), which includes parts of Vermont, New England, and Quebec. The purpose of this act is to acknowledge the Western Abenaki people and to provide a statewide and municipal property tax exemption for property owned by those peoples.
Sec. 2. 32 V.S.A. § 3800(p) is added to read:
(p) The statutory purpose of the exemption under subdivision 3802(21) of this title for property owned by Native American tribes is to recognize those peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Vermont and to lower their costs to allow them to dedicate more of their financial resources to furthering their tribe-related activities.
Sec. 3. 32 V.S.A. § 3802 is amended to read:
§ 3802. PROPERTY TAX20
The following property shall be exempt from taxation:
VT LEG #353286 v.4
(21) Real and personal property owned by a Native American tribe that has been recognized pursuant to 1 V.S.A. chapter 23 or owned by a nonprofit organization that is organized for the tribe’s benefit, provided the property is used for purposes of the tribe and is not leased or rented for profit.
Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE5
This act shall take effect on July 1, 2022.

From: https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2022/Docs/BILLS/H-0556/H-0556%20As%20Introduced.pdf

Author: State of Vermont