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The Chelmsford Board of Assessors dramatically increased the property taxes on the mobile home park based on an assigned value for the 255 trailers that rent space there.
This action appears to violate the spirit of the law, and perhaps the letter of the law.
Frank Reen, Chief Assessor for the town, admits that Massachusetts law historically has been interpreted to protect trailers from property taxes. However, the board contends that because some homes have attached decks they are taxable as permanent homes.
If a huge multinational firm like Sodexho spends money improving their commercial property they can save tens of thousands of dollars on their Chelmsford property taxes. If a few people decide to spend a little money to modestly improve their living conditions, the entire community becomes subject to a new tax.
There are 251 manufactured home communities in the state. According to the Massachusetts Manufactured Housing Association, Chelmsford is the only town taxing trailers as real estate. The chief assessor in Littleton was asked why he is not taxing the trailers in his town as permanent residences. His response: He is going to abide by the law.
There seems to be a fatal flaw in the justification used in Chelmsford. In one instance, the courts upheld taxing a mobile home that takes on the character of a permanent home. That case involved a manufactured home with a permanent foundation and a basement.
In the Chelmsford Mobile Home Park, there are no permanent foundations, no basements.
The case is being contested in court. Last week, a Superior Court judge rejected the owner's request for a temporary injunction to stop the Board of Assessors from changing his tax assessments. However, his appeal with the Tax Appellate Board is pending and the merits of the case as a whole have yet to be addressed in court. In the meantime, the mobile home park owner is paying over $100,000 a year in additional taxes for property he does not own. The town does not even plow the streets in the park.
Chelmsford tests bounds of laws on revenue raising on its mobile home community - Lowell Sun Online