An Act authorizing the establishment of first-time home-buyers savings accounts (S.1507): One of the biggest challenges for young residents on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket is being able to save for a down payment. This bill aims to make it easier for first-time home buyers to save for a single-family home in the Commonwealth. It allows any individual to open an account with a financial institution and designate the account, in its entirety, as a first-time home buyer savings account. The first time home buyer savings account is tax deductible during each tax year. 

An Act relative to the establishment of a means tested senior citizen property tax exemption (S.1506):  Addressing housing affordability on the Cape and Islands is multi-faceted. Many seniors struggle to afford increasing property taxes on fixed incomes. This bill would create a local option to allow residential property tax bills to be reduced for tax payers who qualify for the existing senior circuit breaker tax credit by the sum of (1) 10% of the total annual qualifying income for the purposes of the senior circuit breaker and (2) the amount of the credit the taxpayer was eligible to receive in the previous tax year. The tax bill may not be reduced by more than 50%.