New RI Law Extend Property Tax Exemptions To Cold War Vets

PROVIDENCE, RI — Just in time for Veterans Day, Gov. Dan McKee signed a bill this week extending property tax exemptions to Cold War veterans, including those who did not serve during a declared war or conflict.

"Our veterans have served the nation with valor and dignity. We must always be sure to appreciate them and show them a debt of gratitude, because it is their heroism that keeps us free," McKee said. "That goes for all veterans. Our veterans who served in uniform during the Cold War were gallant in protecting our American ideals. They kept our nation safe, they were our nation's backbone during a decades-long crisis."

McKee ceremonially signed the bill Wednesday with bill sponsors Rep. Camille Vella-Wilkinson and Sen. James Seveney. The ceremony happened outside Warwick's Holliman Elementary, ahead of the school's Veterans Day ceremony.

"The current definition of 'veteran' that we use has a disparate impact on peacetime veterans and especially female veterans," Vella-Wilkinson said. "By changing the way the current law embraces combat in its definition, this bill will correct an injustice to many who served in peacetime and those women who were excluded from combat until policy was changed by the Secretary of Defense in 2013."

Seveney said that Rhode Island "owe[s] veterans a debt that can never be repaid."

"Anyone who joins the armed forces makes a commitment to their country that they back with their lives, regardless of where the flow of history may take them," he continued. "To honor that commitment, it’s only proper that we extend this exemption to other veterans as well."

The law provides property tax exemptions of $1,000 to veterans of all wars since the Civil War, though many towns have individual policies allowing higher amounts. The full list, by town, can be found in the text of the legislation. Contact your local city or town tax assessor's office for more information.