Oh my HEAD!! Taxes have been beaten to death!
NH has the second lowest tax burden surpassed only by Alaska. Yet for some reason people want to increase thier NH tax burden by adding a sales or income tax. The citizens of NH have rejected these taxes time and time again. Yet for some, mostly out-of-state property owners, the battle still rages.
Why is it you want NH to become like your states? We, as NH citizens don't want that! I am happy that MY state government doesn't take 5.3% of my income like MA does, up to 8.5% like ME, up to 5% like CT, up to 9.5% like VT, up to 6.85% like NY or up to 8.97% like NJ! Then again, not only do those states tax your income, they also have a nice sales tax rate, varying from a low of 4.25% (NY) to high of 6% (CT, NJ, VT)! Lets not forget the local property taxes heaped on top! Check out this link as it gives the tax rates for all 50 states.
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/itax/sta...e_tax_home.asp
In Laconia, my tax rate actually dropped $1.00! But my house increased in value some. That increased my overall yearly taxes by $500 or so. So what? I am still paying one hell of a lot less that if I were paying a property tax, and an income tax and a sales tax! Property increases in value driven by demand. I think we are starting to see a dropoff in demand caused by higher interest rates and higher home prices. This will cause housing prices/sales to drop somewhat and lead to some much needed stabilization of the RE market. This will stabilize taxes to a certain extent, and at the very least slow down the runaway increase in property values that are fueling the incresed assesments/tax bill.
Stop whining about the increased cost of ownership on your second home! Be happy you can afford one. If you don't like our tax structure, move up here and vote to change it. However, I am sure that as a resident of NH, you will see things differently. The tax structure in NH benefits NH citizens, as it should. The tax structures in other states benefit thier citizens. You could also sell your house here take out the big profit (that isn't taxed), and buy a house on a lake with a similar tax structure to your home state. Then perhaps it won't seem quite as unfair, that is until you figure out that you can't vote there either!
Woodsy