Business owner being driven out by property taxes

[Kat Kanning]

I just had a long phone call from a woman who read the article about me in NH Magazine and thought maybe we would help her.  She broke out in tears and cried most of the time she was trying to tell me about her situation.  She runs a cool business:  teaching working mothers and poor people how to run computers and make a better life for themselves.  It's a private adult school.  She lives in Peterborough and the property taxes are driving the family to consider abandoning the business and leaving the state.  Apparently, the town was trying to revalue her home really high because some rich guys in Boston want to buy her house.  She's been all through the system trying to get help.  I gather she's ready to try something outside the system.  They told her in the school board meetings to get a second job.  She's paying 20% of her income in property taxes.

Ideas on what we can do to help?  I'm meeting with her and her husband tomorrow afternoon.

[cathleeninnh]

It is a tough situation. She lives in a town/school district that likes to keep increasing budgets and there is high demand for the properties. That means ever increasing tax bills. It drives out just the kind of people the town wants to drive out. Ethnic cleansing as Ed calls it.

What to do? Some would sell out, making a bundle if possible and try to start up in a lower cost area with the proceeds. Or maybe appeal to the charitable in the town as to the good service you provide to the less fortunate and possibly get the town to subsidize the business. Or maybe reinvent the business and go global. Maybe making and marketing a video to reach a larger market. Or take up a collection to get her by. Or flier the town with her plight and try to garner sympathy. That might get her a tax exemption designed specifically for her. Or she could quit paying and join the waiting game until they come take her house.

Some of the options are awful.

Cathleen

[Kat Kanning]

I like the video idea.

[tracysaboe]

How much does she owe?

Tracy

[Kat Kanning]

I don't think she's behind on tax payments.  She just doesn't have money for her regular bills left over.

[Russell Kanning]

It is so obvious what the bureaucracy is all about when they suggested that she get a second job.

[Quantrill]

Who's in charge of determining property taxes?  It sure would be nice to have a PORC in charge of that...

[KBCraig]

Who's in charge of determining property taxes?  It sure would be nice to have a PORC in charge of that...

Everyone who votes for a town's budget.

[FrankChodorov]

just take out a home equity loan on the appreciating land value to pay the property tax...

[tracysaboe]

just take out a home equity loan on the appreciating land value to pay the property tax...

That's as stupid and beauracratic suggestion as "get another Job"

Tracy

[dawn]

If they try to over assess her, she can file an abatement. Which would need to be approved, of course. The problem with abatements is that you have to pay your taxes, and then file the paperwork. If she can prove that other similar homes are assessed at a lower price (or have sold for less) they should lower hers too.

Another reason for an abatement is something about financial hardship. If she can't afford her taxes, she can file her abatement for that reason as well.

The only way to try to keep property taxes down in your town is to control spending. That means going to deliberative session (in SB2 towns) or town meeting and VOTING for fiscally responsible people who will keep an eye on the tax dollars.

[FrankChodorov]

just take out a home equity loan on the appreciating land value to pay the property tax...

That's as stupid and beauracratic suggestion as "get another Job"

why?

[penguins4me]

why?

The principle of continually taxing an object a person "owns" - and then taking the object away if, for whatever reason, the continual tax cannot or will not be paid leaves a sick feeling in my stomach. Doesn't matter if it is "legal", if someone chooses to buy property out away from everyone else and revert to subsistence living, they should be free to drop out of the system at their leisure. However, that appears to be impossible at this time... and that is wrong.

By extension, property in a city being continually and increasingly taxed is also amoral.

[Crocuta]

The principle of continually taxing an object a person "owns" - and then taking the object away if, for whatever reason, the continual tax cannot or will not be paid leaves a sick feeling in my stomach. Doesn't matter if it is "legal", if someone chooses to buy property out away from everyone else and revert to subsistence living, they should be free to drop out of the system at their leisure. However, that appears to be impossible at this time... and that is wrong.
By extension, property in a city being continually and increasingly taxed is also amoral.

I have to agree.  I'm not comfortable with NH dumping everything onto property tax.  It should be a fundamental principle that once you OWN land, a home, whatever - it should be yours forever unless you choose to enter into a mortgage or otherwise place that property up as collateral.  No matter how bad things get, even if the water is turned off, the electricity, high speed internet ::shudder::, a man or woman should never be in danger of losing the roof over their head just because they can't pay a tax.

At least other taxes you can choose to opt out of or avoid.

[error]

why?

The principle of continually taxing an object a person "owns" - and then taking the object away if, for whatever reason, the continual tax cannot or will not be paid leaves a sick feeling in my stomach. Doesn't matter if it is "legal", if someone chooses to buy property out away from everyone else and revert to subsistence living, they should be free to drop out of the system at their leisure. However, that appears to be impossible at this time... and that is wrong.

By extension, property in a city being continually and increasingly taxed is also amoral.

This is also why Frank has such horribly low karma and is on many people's ignore lists.

Property tax is the ultimate means by which all (except Russell) are forced back into the wage-earning, tax-paying system of slavery to the government.

Eventually, it's going to have to be swept into the dustbin of history.