Pennelli v. Town of Pelham
| Decision Date | 18 September 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 2001–453.,2001–453. |
| Citation | 148 N.H. 365,807 A.2d 1256 |
| Court | New Hampshire Supreme Court |
| Parties | Hilda PENNELLI v. TOWN OF PELHAM. |
Michael L. Donovan, of Concord, by brief, for the plaintiff.
Soule, Leslie, Kidder, Sayward & Loughman, P.L.L.C., of Salem (Diane M. Gorrow on the brief), for the defendant.
The defendant, the Town of Pelham (town), appeals from an order of the Superior Court (Hampsey , J.) reversing the town's partial denial of an elderly tax exemption to the plaintiff, Hilda Pennelli. We affirm.
The relevant facts follow. The plaintiff owns a split-level home in Pelham. For many years, her daughter-in-law and grandchildren have lived in the lower half of the house. In 1995, the plaintiff enlarged the area in which her daughter-in-law and grandchildren live by converting an attached garage into living space and adding a second floor above the converted garage. In 1999, the plaintiff applied for an elderly tax exemption, which the town partially denied. The town exempted the plaintiff's own living area from taxation, but declined to exempt the area occupied by her daughter-in-law and grandchildren, terming it the "second unit" of her "two family dwelling unit."
On appeal to the trial court, the plaintiff argued that the statutes governing elderly tax exemptions did not authorize the town to grant her only a partial property tax exemption. The trial court agreed.
"The trial court's interpretation of a statute is a question of law, which we review de novo ." Crowley v. Frazier, 147 N.H. 387, 389, 788 A.2d 263 (2001). "[I]n construing tax statutes, we are guided by the well-settled principle ... that a tax exemption is construed to give full effect to the legislative intent of the statute." In re Estate of Martin, 125 N.H. 690, 691, 484 A.2d 1183 (1984) (quotation omitted).
"The starting point in any statutory interpretation case is the language of the statute itself." Crowley, 147 N.H. at 389, 788 A.2d 263. We first look to the plain and ordinary meaning of the words used. Petition of Bailey, 146 N.H. 197, 198, 769 A.2d 360 (2001). "As we examine the language, we do not merely look at isolated words or phrases, but instead we consider the statute as a whole." DeVere v. Attorney General, 146 N.H. 762, 765, 781 A.2d 24 (2001). "In so doing, we are better able to discern the legislature's intent, and therefore better able to understand the statutory language in light of the policy sought to be advanced by the entire statutory scheme." Id . (quotation omitted).
Furthermore, we interpret statutes in the context of the overall statutory scheme. Nault v. N & L Dev. Co., 146 N.H. 35, 37, 767 A.2d 406 (2001). "When interpreting two statutes which deal with a similar subject matter, we will construe them so that they do not contradict each other, and so that they will lead to reasonable results and effectuate the legislative purpose of the statute." Id . at 38, 767 A.2d 406 (quotation omitted).
Statutes related to tax exemptions for individuals are found in RSA 72:28 (Supp.2001) through RSA 72:72 (Supp.2001). RSA 72:29 (Supp.2001) sets forth the definitions applicable to many of the exemptions, including the elderly tax exemption. RSA 72:39–a (Supp.2001) describes what is necessary to qualify for the elderly tax exemption; the elderly person must: (1) own the property in question, either alone or jointly; (2) have resided in this State for at least five years; (3) have no more than a certain amount of net income; and (4) own net assets of no more than a defined amount. See RSA 72:39–a. It is undisputed that the plaintiff meets all of the above requirements.
RSA 72:39–a, I(c) sets forth the requirements pertaining to net assets. Excluded from the net asset calculation is "the value of the person's actual residence and the land upon which it is located." RSA 72:39–a, I(c). The term "residence," as used in RSA 72:39–a, I(c), "means the housing unit, and related structures ... which is the person's principal home, and which the person in good faith regards as home." Id . The term "residence" excludes "attached dwelling units." Id .
The town argues that the area in which the plaintiff's daughter-in-law and grandchildren live is an "attached dwelling unit." As such, the town asserts, it is not the plaintiff's "residence" and is ineligible for an elderly tax exemption. We disagree. When we construe all of the statutory provisions related to the elderly tax exemption together, we conclude that the exemption applies to dwelling units that are attached to the elderly person's principal residence.
Pursuant to RSA 72:41 (Supp.2001), the elderly tax exemption applies to "residential real estate." RSA 72:29, II defines "residential real estate" as "the real estate which the person qualified for an exemption ... occupies as his principal place of abode together with any land or buildings appurtenant thereto." RSA 72:29, II. Appurtenant means "annexed or belonging legally to some more important thing." Webster's Third New International Dictionary 107 (unabridged ed.1961). Thus, the elderly tax exemption applies both to the plaintiff's principal residence and to the attached area occupied by her daughter-in-law and grandchildren.
The town's reliance upon RSA 72:39–a, I(c) is misplaced. This provision does not define the scope of the elderly tax exemption. Rather, it explains how to calculate an individual applicant's net assets. Because the term "residence," as defined in RSA 72:39–a, I(c), does not include "attached dwelling units," the value of attached dwelling units is included in the net asset calculation while the value of the individual's "residence" is not. RSA 72:39–a, I(c).
If the legislature intended the elderly tax exemption to apply only to the elderly individual's "residence" as defined in RSA 72–39:a, I(c), then the phrase "residential real estate" in RSA 72:41 would be superfluous. "Basic statutory construction rules require that all of the words of a statute must be given effect and that the legislature is presumed not to have used superfluous or redundant words." Appeal of Reid, 143 N.H. 246, 252, 722 A.2d 489 (1998) (quotation omitted).
Our construction of the scope of the elderly tax exemption is consistent with the exemption's purpose. The evident purpose of the elderly tax exemption "is to protect elderly homeowners from loss of their homes by reason of taxation beyond their means." Opinion of the Justices, 115 N.H. 228, 232, 338 A.2d 553 (1975) (). Consistent with this purpose, the exemption applies not only to the elderly individual's home, but also to the land upon which the home was built and the buildings annexed to it. In this way, the exemption protects the entirety of the elderly individual's property interest.
Our construction of the elderly tax exemption is also consistent with the scope of many other individual tax exemptions. See RSA 72:35 (Supp.2001) (tax credit for individual honorably discharged from military service applies to property occupied as principal place of residence and "to any land or buildings appurtenant to the residence"); RSA 72:37 (Supp.2001) ...
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