PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The so-called “Taylor Swift tax” is facing its first major legal challenge, with dozens of Rhode Island property owners arguing the state’s new levy on luxury second homes is unconstitutional.
The “Non-Owner Occupied Property Tax” took effect on July 1, imposing an additional tax on the thousands of residential properties in Rhode Island assessed at more than $1 million that are vacant for at least half of the year.
The law is informally nicknamed the “Taylor Swift tax” in reference to the celebrity singer-songwriter’s Watch Hill estate, which has an assessed value upward of $28 million. Unless she is eligible for an exemption, Swift could owe approximately $136,000 to the state annually…