(1)  A judge of the Supreme Court shall not be incapable of acting in his judicial office in any proceeding by reason of his being as one of several ratepayers, or as one of any other class of persons liable in common with others to contribute to or to be benefited by any rate or tax which may be increased, diminished, or in any way affected by that proceeding.

(2)  In this section the expression

rate or tax means any rate, tax, duty, or assessment whether public, general, or local, and also any fund formed from the proceeds of any such rate, tax, duty, or assessment, or applicable to the same or like purposes to which any such rate, duty, or assessment might be applied.