Lower Property Taxes

Property taxes continue to rise.  Seniors should not have to sell their houses and move because they can’t afford to pay their property taxes. 

For the last decade Republicans have been reducing NH state revenue.  This has resulted in a transfer of costs to municipalities of $3 Billion.  The Business Profits Tax and Business Enterprise Tax were cut and the Interest and Dividends Tax was repealed entirely.  This gift to the wealthy has been used to force towns and schools to enact fiscal austerity programs because Concord says there isn’t money to fund programs anymore.  While required special education costs are rising 3 times faster than general education costs, the state and Federal governments are not paying their share.  If Republicans keep control of the Governor’s office and the legislature, this trend will not change and your property taxes will continue to go up or your towns and schools will be severely underfunded.  My property taxes have gone up 50% in the last 14 years.  I didn’t see an equivalent reduction in my taxes when the Business Profits Tax and Enterprise Tax were cut.  The repeal of the Interests and Dividends tax saved me a few hundred dollars a year.  But now I am paying thousands more a year through increased property taxes.

The fairness of how the state raises revenue needs to revisited.  The systems that were in place in 2012 and 2013 seemed to work for Republicans and Democrats.