Here we go again! HB675 if passed, will raise the state education tax to be paid for by property taxes. The suggested amount the state pays per student would be raised from a little over 4,000 to a little over 7,000 dollars. The state fund would be increased from a little over 300 million to over 700 million dollars. This increase would all be on the backs of property owners. Depending on the amount of the new tax, it could mean hundreds, if not thousands of dollars added to your property tax bill each year. Our state’s per-student reimbursement to school districts ranks 49th out of 50 states. The only thing that makes us 10th has nothing to do with the help of the state. It is property taxes that allow that ranking. I know that the town I live in did everything they could do and primarily succeeded in keeping down property tax increases after recent assessed values almost doubled. So now, the state wants to come along and thwart all that good work. State government is cheap when it comes to its portion of education funding. This bill should not pass, neither should any other similar bill that will impose a new tax on education that will be an increased burden on property tax owners. Property owners in New Hampshire just can’t keep being asked to pay more and more while the state government does nothing but impose new taxes.

Paul Pelchat

Thornton