Moultonboro assessor larceny

[TiltonBB]

If you want assessments to be on anything other than fair market value you would open up a big can of worms.

If you think a waterfront business should be taxed more because they make money off the lake then what other things will people think of that should affect the tax rate?

I have no kids in the school system so I should be taxed less?

I have never called the police or fire department so I should be taxed less?

My house is on an island so I get a slow response from any town services and don't require plowing so I should be taxed less?

[Descant]

Tilton BB. In a sense you are taxed less. The market value of your island home reflects the seasonal occupancy and the lack of services. If you had the same house on the mainland with comparable shorefront the assessment and the taxes wuuld be much higher. You knew that, right?

[TiltonBB]

Originally Posted by Descant

Tilton BB. In a sense you are taxed less. The market value of your island home reflects the seasonal occupancy and the lack of services. If you had the same house on the mainland with comparable shorefront the assessment and the taxes wuuld be much higher. You knew that, right?

Yes, I do know that properties are taxed on fair market value and island properties are typically valued less than a similar property on the mainland.

A prior poster took the position that because people on certain properties made their living from the lake should be taxed more because of that.

My attempt was to point out that people could come up with any number of reasons why they should be taxed less (or more). The system that only takes into consideration the fair market value of the property seems the most equitable at this time.

[jeffk]

It seems that land that is developed as a commercial property is probably more valuable, to a point. But property tax is based on the estimated sales value of the property, not how successful the business is. We have a business profits tax for that.

[gwhite13]

I defer to the particulars but, not to long ago an estate in Moultonborough sold for several million, was only taxed for less than a single million. That may be where the crux of the issue may lay. Still love the town though.

[Descant]

Originally Posted by gwhite13

I defer to the particulars but, not to long ago an estate in Moultonborough sold for several million, was only taxed for less than a single million. That may be where the crux of the issue may lay. Still love the town though.

If there was significant land in current use, the property tax could have been low. The land could be very valuable on the market and the town will collect "Land Use Change Tax" when it comes out of current use. Alternatively, the house and a lot could have been assessed at a million and an adjacent but separate valuable parcel could have been part of the deal. Too many variables to draw conclusions.

[Sue Doe-Nym]

Originally Posted by TiltonBB

If you want assessments to be on anything other than fair market value you would open up a big can of worms.

If you think a waterfront business should be taxed more because they make money off the lake then what other things will people think of that should affect the tax rate?

I have no kids in the school system so I should be taxed less?

I have never called the police or fire department so I should be taxed less?

My house is on an island so I get a slow response from any town services and don't require plowing so I should be taxed less?

Tilton BB makes some good points. Fair market value and assessed value are supposed to be close. The assessor doesn’t care whether your ten kids are home schooled....or whether you only spend six months of the year here.....or any of that extraneous nonsense. Whether or not the homeowner rents his property out during the season should have no bearing on the assessment.....he will get nailed when he pays income taxes.

[tummyman]

Take a look at the video tape of the September 19th BOS meeting or the minutes from that meeting. NUMEROUS issues pointed out to the Select Board, but nothing came from it. Blind to all the issues.