New Waterfront Tax proposed HB 629-FN

[Susie Cougar]

Waterfront owners can easily figure out what they would be expected to pay. I’m just curious if anyone has figured out what everyone would pay if they also tax non-waterfront properties. It seems to me it would be a very small amount, so that it would not be a burden for anyone.

[John Mercier]

That becomes a political issue.
Then you have a statewide property tax that is not held by the municipality, but remitted to the State DRA for redistribution.

It starts to undermine the current position on that issue.

They also have a problem in the general funds, as the budget year runs from July 1st to June 30th, and the broader taxation numbers are tanking.
We have enough of a budget surplus to cover what we know from the first quarter (07/01 to 09/30), but not the numbers on the second quarter to see if that was a blip.

Legislation takes a while to get through, so from a budgeting standpoint, they are looking for new revenue without shifting the argument on the two court cases against them.

[tummyman]

Here are the email addresses of every member of the committee that will vote on HB629-FN. They will vote next week. So there is still time to drop a brief email to the entire group expressing your concerns. If you put the entire group of names in the bcc field, the email will look to them as coming to them personally even though you sent it to the group. We need to keep up the heat. PLEASE send an email ASAP.



Heather.Baldwin@gc.nh.gov, Nicholas.Bridle@gc.nh.gov, Tom.Buco@gc.nh.gov, Will.Darby@gc.nh.gov, Arnold.Davis@gc.nh.gov, Tanya.Donnelly@gc.nh.gov, Ron.Dunn@gc.nh.gov, Pierre.Dupont@gc.nh.gov, linda.gould@gc.nh.gov, Robert.Harb@gc.nh.gov, Allison.Knab@gc.nh.gov, Matthew.Lunney@gc.nh.gov, Linda.Ryan@gc.nh.gov, Gregory.Sargent@gc.nh.gov, Brian.Taylor@gc.nh.gov, Suzanne.Vail@gc.nh.gov

[hemlock]

I just sent an email to the committee with my concerns and some suggestion one of which was to send this to interim study. The committee is voting this coming this Wednesday in Executive session so timing is important.

[Woodsy]

Unpopular opinion,

I get what the legislature is trying to do, and it does seem necessary. NH has long been a 'Pay to Play" State with fees for just about everything so its not surprising to see the legislature take this approach. However, I think it can be mitigated somewhat...

Waterfront property owners see the most benefit from the dams, so IMHO its ok that they get hit with a fee/tax for dam maintenance. I don't think $1.60/ft is outrageous. That being said, it should apply to ALL waterfront (freshwater) properties, not just those on lakes with a dam. That should reduce the fee to approx $1/ft and raise more $$$.

Boaters absolutely benefit, I have no problem paying this fee/tax.

Fishermen also benefit, so again IMHO its ok to hit them with a $2 surcharge on their fishing license...

Kayakers benefit and have long skated under the radar... Kayaks should have to buy an annual sticker say $10, that goes to F&G, MP & dam fund.

Nobody wants to give the government any more money, but in this instance it may be warranted.

Woodsy