'21 Moultonborough Tax Rate Delay

[thinkxingu]

Does anyone know why Moultonborough's tax rates aren't set yet and/or when they will be?

I don't really wanna pay taxes in the first place, but it seems like they're very late this year?

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[Little Bear]

I called Moultonborough tax collector last week asking the same question. I was told that they are waiting for the State of NH to inform them as to what the tax rate will be. Said it may be another couple of weeks.

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by Little Bear

I called Moultonborough tax collector last week asking the same question. I was told that they are waiting for the State of NH to inform them as to what the tax rate will be. Said it may be another couple of weeks.

If that's the case, the bills might not be due until after the new year. Pretty crazy.

I wonder what the issue is?

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[tummyman]

The silence from M'boro Town Hall is deafening. Have you heard what the percent increase in overall assessed valuation is for the current update? Have you heard what the percent changes were for waterfront land, waterfront buildings, commercial, non waterfront land, non waterfront buildings? Nope, me neither. Silence. But BOS busies themselves with small ball items like approving raffles, steamboat rallies, etc. However no discussion or information on property taxes. PENDING state approval, they could disclose what the preliminary change will be in the town and school tax rates as well as the county portion of the bill....all PENDING. They have the data.

[WinnisquamZ]

Laconia waterfront homes increased approximately 11%


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[tummyman]

According to this weeks Town Administrator weekly report and a discussion with town officials, it appears the "problem" has been caused solely by the SAU45 School Board / Administration who have failed to meet the required due dates for forms to be submitted to the state. And it seems they may not have been submitted as of yet. We are not talking about a day or so late....we are talking about WEEKS!!! I do not understand how they can miss important dates and cause problems for taxpayers at year end. Where is the accountability?? The schools need to do their job ON TIME and submit their data immediately if they have not done so. If you go to the NH DRA web site, there are six pages of cities/towns that have had their tax rates approved, so others are able to get the job done on time.

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by tummyman

According to this weeks Town Administrator weekly report and a discussion with town officials, it appears the "problem" has been caused solely by the SAU45 School Board / Administration who have failed to meet the required due dates for forms to be submitted to the state. And it seems they may not have been submitted as of yet. We are not talking about a day or so late....we are talking about WEEKS!!! I do not understand how they can miss important dates and cause problems for taxpayers at year end. Where is the accountability?? The schools need to do their job ON TIME and submit their data immediately if they have not done so. If you go to the NH DRA web site, there are six pages of cities/towns that have had their tax rates approved, so others are able to get the job done on time.

Sure, schools (and other government entities) should be getting their stuff done on time, but I'm not angry about the delay (nor do I think anyone else should be). I mean, I'm not exactly chomping at the bit to give money away, right?!

I was merely asking to confirm I hadn't missed anything and to make sure I didn't need to make a change in budgeting as we get into the Christmas season. We've already started to hemorrhage money, soooo...

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[tummyman]

The form...MS-25 is due to DRA on September 1st. It is now over 2 months overdue. Seems to be a problem here. Some people do care about getting their bills on time and being able to pay before December 31st for tax purposes.

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by tummyman

The form...MS-25 is due to DRA on September 1st. It is now over 2 months overdue. Seems to be a problem here. Some people do care about getting their bills on time and being able to pay before December 31st for tax purposes.

I get it, I do—it's why I asked—but we're not all that late. Last year, bills were sent out 11/9, the year before on the 22nd.

And we still have, like, five weeks before the end of the year and taxes become a thing.

I guess I'm just trying to keep all those things in my life in perspective, and, all other things considered, this isn't a big deal at all.

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[phoenix]

so at least consistently late

[upthesaukee]

If indeed, the town has not sent in the form(s) in a timely fashion for me that is a very real problem. Now, this does not have an effect on me, being a resident of Alton. However, I can put it in a perspective that most property owners may relate to.

In my prior life, I worked in personal lines insurance for a couple of different insurance companies, and at times, we would send out "Renewal Questionnaires". These forms, conspicuously stated at the top and bottom of the firm, that failure to return the form before xxxxxx date could result in non-renewal of the policy.

I'm sure that the State informs towns that failure to send in the required documents will result in a delay in the results being processed. (If it was me, a form two months late would automatically find its way to the bottom of the pile).

Hopefully residents will remember who is responsible for the delay, especially if this ends up being a recurring problem.

Dave

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by phoenix

so at least consistently late

Is there an expected or required time for taxes?

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[ACME on the Broads]

As a point of reference only, back in December 2014, Moultonborough's RE tax bills were dated 12/5/2014 with payment due date of 1/5/2015.

[John Mercier]

Originally Posted by thinkxingu

Is there an expected or required time for taxes?

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Usually municipalities will try to get them out in time to set a December 1st due date on them for purposes of keeping two payments in the same federal tax year.

It helps for planning purposes for those that itemize.

[tummyman]

Amazingly the M'boro Board of Selectmen has just posted a meeting for tomorrow, Nov. 30th at 4PM to finalize the tax rate. Don't expect any heavy lifting by anyone on this agenda item, but if the rate gets officially approved, then I would expect bills to come out shortly thereafter. Maybe there will be some sort of estimate tomorrow as to when they expect the bills to be mailed.

[longislander]

... a meeting for tomorrow, Nov. 30th at 4PM to finalize the tax rate

The select board vote was to go with 6.98 total tax rate for Moultonborough.
Last year was 7.13 total.

[phoenix]

Taxes will go up somewhat

[tummyman]

Originally Posted by longislander

The select board vote was to go with 6.98 total tax rate for Moultonborough.
Last year was 7.13 total.

Yes, but one member of the BOS....Ms. Beadle....was entrenched in not using a larger portion of the EXCESS unassigned fund balance that is at a 17+% rate vs. the BOS target of 12.5% to offset the increase in tax rate and voted to abstain from the final vote. Bottom line, she was OK raising your taxes with a flat year over year tax rate and keeping excess money way over the board target in the town rainy day "bank" account instead of returning more of it to taxpayers when there was a significant increase in assessed valuations. At least the remaining four board members did the correct thing for taxpayers. Congratulations to Selectman McGee for putting up a fight to get a lower rate for taxpayers.

[ACME on the Broads]

Thanks for the update Tummyman.

We continue to be impressed with BOS Chuck McGee; his grasp of the issues, their impact on the numbers year round and for maintaining an open and fair perspective to other's point(s) of view, all highly commendable given the sensitivity of the current political climate.

With inflation running at a 30 year high and now no longer considered "transitory"; with gasoline, food, heating oil/propane and everything else exploding in cost, increasing assessments and the Unassigned Fund Balance maintaining a sizeable excess vs. BOS plan, not sure why or how BOS Ms. Beadle or any selectman could abstain on such a critical issue? The excess (cash) is earning little interest while many of our locals struggle and will continue to struggle....why then not find common ground? Ms. Beadle's abstention warrants serious consideration.

As Tummyman states, the other four BOS and Chuck McGee in particular are to be commended for their courage, dedication, concern, well-being of our community, its residents and the system overall. Thank you all for your service to our community.

[pondguy]

Has Meredith set their rate yet ? Last years billing date was 11/30, due on 1/6.

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by tummyman

Yes, but one member of the BOS....Ms. Beadle....was entrenched in not using a larger portion of the EXCESS unassigned fund balance that is at a 17+% rate vs. the BOS target of 12.5% to offset the increase in tax rate and voted to abstain from the final vote. Bottom line, she was OK raising your taxes with a flat year over year tax rate and keeping excess money way over the board target in the town rainy day "bank" account instead of returning more of it to taxpayers when there was a significant increase in assessed valuations. At least the remaining four board members did the correct thing for taxpayers. Congratulations to Selectman McGee for putting up a fight to get a lower rate for taxpayers.

If I'm reading this correctly, you're upset that more of the "rainy day fund" wasn't liquidated to reduce taxes?

If so, and I accept that I don't know all the details as my overall tax is very low so I don't pay much attention, I would rather keep as much money in the RDF as possible without greatly increasing taxes because, in the long run, that can be more beneficial.

Case in point: 15 years ago, my town had money put aside for a new library. The people in charge then decided to liquidate that, something like $2M, for a one-time tax reduction. Most people got, like, $200 back and now, almost two decades later, we have an old, inefficient library, and it would cost exponentially more to have a new one built.

In short, my town will probably never have a new library for an average household savings of $200 in one tax year.

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[longislander]

MoBo tax collector:
"Hello folks,
The tax rate was set later than usual this year. The projected mail date (based on the turn around from the company that prints and mails our tax bills) will be no later than December 13. January 19, 2022 will be the tax bill due date (providing DRA signs off on the tax rate).
If you have questions regarding payments, how to pay (especially if you’re traveling during the holidays), please reach out to the Tax Office at 603-476-2347 or taxcollector@moultonboroughnh.gov."

Regarding Tummyman's pertinent comments, the "unassigned funds" were debated, whereby one of the board members wanted to keep the tax rate at 7.13 and the rest of the board voted to reduce the tax rate to 6.98 and still have plenty of contingency money in the unassigned fund.

The state, I believe, recommends 5%-12% and Mobo has much more than that (??? 15%-17%).



The stream of the meeting can be seen here:

https://townhallstreams.com/stream.p...id=51&id=41501

[tummyman]

Let's dig into the "facts" a little more. Did you know that at the end of last 2020 fiscal year, the town had an unassigned fund balance of over $5.4million that at the time, represented 55% of the TOTAL ANNUAL town general fund expenditures (page "v" of 2020 Annual Audit Report). Did you know that the 17+% fund balance is calculated using not only town expenditures but also includes the gross expenditures of the SAU45 school district, Carroll county assessment, and the state wide education assessment levy (same page "v" of 2020 Anual Audit Report)? Did you know that, on top of the 17+% unassigned fund balance that the town has additional specially designated trust fund reserves of $5.9 million (page 128 of 2020 Annual Report) as of the end of 2020? Did you know that the schools also have unassigned fund balances and health cost reserves ON TOP of the town amounts (ABC report on schools dated 1/26/2021)? The town is not poor by any measure. It seems to me there are PLENTY of reserve funds available. And no, we do not need a new library, new police or fire station, town hall, etc. etc. And nobody has said how much more unassigned funds will be added to these totals once the current fiscal year results are known. It may very well be that the 18 month budget had extra amounts that will be unexpended by the time the year closes. As a result, I respectfully say your arguments for a high reserve fund balance are not factually based and therefore absolutely not valid.

Let's get real honest here. The bulk of property taxes come from lakefront assessments where the majority of folks cannot vote on town expenditures. Warrant articles for many items show funding from the unassigned fund balance. By keeping the unassigned balances high and not returning excesses to taxpayers who actually paid the extra amounts, it is easy to fund and vote on discretionary projects by saying money comes from unassigned and not from the tax rate. Ah, not impacting the tax rate makes it so much easier for town meeting to approve the expenditure. Ms. Beadle was clear in wanting to hold these balances high for exactly this reason. So the many lakefront owners who have no say at town meeting are funding these excess reserves that are not being returned to taxpayers who overpaid in the first place. Mr. McGee was clearly advocating to return a larger portion of the excesses to the taxpayers and in my opinion should be applauded for that.

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by tummyman

Let's dig into the "facts" a little more. Did you know that at the end of last 2020 fiscal year, the town had an unassigned fund balance of over $5.4million that at the time, represented 55% of the TOTAL ANNUAL town general fund expenditures (page "v" of 2020 Annual Audit Report). Did you know that the 17+% fund balance is calculated using not only town expenditures but also includes the gross expenditures of the SAU45 school district, Carroll county assessment, and the state wide education assessment levy (same page "v" of 2020 Anual Audit Report)? Did you know that, on top of the 17+% unassigned fund balance that the town has additional specially designated trust fund reserves of $5.9 million (page 128 of 2020 Annual Report) as of the end of 2020? Did you know that the schools also have unassigned fund balances and health cost reserves ON TOP of the town amounts (ABC report on schools dated 1/26/2021)? The town is not poor by any measure. It seems to me there are PLENTY of reserve funds available. And no, we do not need a new library, new police or fire station, town hall, etc. etc. And nobody has said how much more unassigned funds will be added to these totals once the current fiscal year results are known. It may very well be that the 18 month budget had extra amounts that will be unexpended by the time the year closes. As a result, I respectfully say your arguments for a high reserve fund balance are not factually based and therefore absolutely not valid.

Let's get real honest here. The bulk of property taxes come from lakefront assessments where the majority of folks cannot vote on town expenditures. Warrant articles for many items show funding from the unassigned fund balance. By keeping the unassigned balances high and not returning excesses to taxpayers who actually paid the extra amounts, it is easy to fund and vote on discretionary projects by saying money comes from unassigned and not from the tax rate. Ah, not impacting the tax rate makes it so much easier for town meeting to approve the expenditure. Ms. Beadle was clear in wanting to hold these balances high for exactly this reason. So the many lakefront owners who have no say at town meeting are funding these excess reserves that are not being returned to taxpayers who overpaid in the first place. Mr. McGee was clearly advocating to return a larger portion of the excesses to the taxpayers and in my opinion should be applauded for that.

It's hard to follow your facts—how much in total does Moultonborough have in "rainy day" reserves? Over $11M? If so, I agree. That's a lot of money. A few million, though, can go really fast with a couple emergency repairs, and I'd much rather have a consistent tax rate with reserves than a fluctuating one to compensate.

Let's also recognize that you're clearly bitter about this process and the funds and that you may not be completely objective (just sayin'!).

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[tummyman]

Let's not get personal. Facts are facts. Yes, reserves are somewhere in the +/- $11M range. Enough said....

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by tummyman

Let's not get personal. Facts are facts. Yes, reserves are somewhere in the +/- $11M range. Enough said....

Fair enough—not my intention to get personal, just pointing out the tone; apologies, friend.

I agree that $11M is higher than I would expect Moultonborough to keep in reserve. I suppose, however, that I'd need to know how much that would affect the tax rate. If we're talking cents, I'd say keep it and work it out through the upcoming years' needs. Whole dollars might be a different question, though.

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[longislander]

I suppose, however, that I'd need to know how much that would affect the tax rate. If we're talking cents, I'd say keep it and work it out through the upcoming years' needs. Whole dollars might be a different question, though.

According to the town administrator at the meeting, the board reviewed numerous unassigned fund balance amounts to determine the rate, from $400,000 which would keep the rate at 7.13, to $1,000,000 which would lower to 6.98.

I think one of the board members used a hypothetical $300,000
(or something) assessment on a house for an idea of effect of the rates.

Not good at math, $300,000 at 7.13/1000 is $300,000 x .00713 = $2139 tax
.................................................. ..........$300,000 x .00698 = $2094 tax
Difference is $45 for the year.

................................................,. .......$1,000,000 x .00713 = $7,130 tax
.................................................. .......$1,000,000 x .00698 = $6,980 tax
Difference is $150 for the year.

Town policy #32 tries to keep Unassigned Fund balance at 12.5% (in fact, it is higher).
See item 5 (b) in town policy #32:

https://www.moultonboroughnh.gov/sit...alance2015.pdf


Maybe there should be more discussion on the use of unassigned funds on town meeting warrants ... or truly "unexpected" expense... with repeat performances!

Smoothing or keeping fairly linear, tax rates, is a good thing. However, a warrant "appropriation" should not be an anticipated, "unexpected," expense" .

Also, how much revenue interest is the fund earning?

[phoenix]

Mine went up 5%

[longislander]

NHDRA explains how to calculate property taxes as it releases new town tax rates

https://www.revenue.nh.gov/documents...2021_FINAL.pdf

[thinkxingu]

Tax bills are live online at nhtaxkiosk.com. Due 1/19.

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[phoenix]

thanks will wait until January to pay mine.

[Cal-to-NH]

Hi folks:

My taxes went up astronomically, and the total tax rate per $1000 valuation nearly doubled

I don't know how some folks are reporting 5% increases - maybe it's me?

tax rate per $1,000 valuation
County: Last year 0.67 This year 1.01 - whopping 77% increase
School: Last year 1.04 This year 1.97 - big 89% increase
State Ed: Last year 0.89 This year 1.67 - 88% increase
TOTAL LAST YEAR 3.55 TOTAL THIS YEAR 6.98

I guess I just don't understand enough about revenue-generation for the State and County
I know it's easy to say COVID, but I know the county makes money on the 1.4% tax on home sales as well as permits, registration fees, etc... - and I don't know about your thoughts, but it BOOMED here in Moultonborough, and I don't think it's only us - I would have guessed they were swimming in cash.

Strangely I would personally believe that it cost more for education due to COVID - extra PPE, buying ZOOM licenses for all faculty and staff, additional cleaning and disinfection, etc... Again, though I wouldn't have expected it to double my tax rate.

[phoenix]

according to newsletter the average went up 10%. with about 2% drop in the tax rate so on average people will get about 8% increase in the tax bill. Which is what i got. Your assessment for some reason went up more which unfortunately would have had to be handled with a objection in august. You can appeal when you get next year's assessment in August 2022

[DickR]

Originally Posted by Cal-to-NH

...

tax rate per $1,000 valuation
County: Last year 0.67 This year 1.01 - whopping 77% increase
School: Last year 1.04 This year 1.97 - big 89% increase
State Ed: Last year 0.89 This year 1.67 - 88% increase
TOTAL LAST YEAR 3.55 TOTAL THIS YEAR 6.98...

Your numbers don't add up. For last year, the three numbers are wrong. For both years, the three don't add up to the stated total, as neither includes the "Municipal" part. For this year, that is $2.33, compared to $2.11 for last year. Last year's total was $7.13. All the numbers may be seen here: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...veOg_zzS1KD8pD

That was the first hit on a Google search on: moultonborough nh tax rate 2019 2020

[tummyman]

Your numbers are all wrong. Attached is the link to Town Assessor web page with all the rates.



https://www.moultonboroughnh.gov/sit...te_history.pdf

[John Mercier]

Originally Posted by Cal-to-NH

Hi folks:

My taxes went up astronomically, and the total tax rate per $1000 valuation nearly doubled

I don't know how some folks are reporting 5% increases - maybe it's me?

tax rate per $1,000 valuation
County: Last year 0.67 This year 1.01 - whopping 77% increase
School: Last year 1.04 This year 1.97 - big 89% increase
State Ed: Last year 0.89 This year 1.67 - 88% increase
TOTAL LAST YEAR 3.55 TOTAL THIS YEAR 6.98

I guess I just don't understand enough about revenue-generation for the State and County
I know it's easy to say COVID, but I know the county makes money on the 1.4% tax on home sales as well as permits, registration fees, etc... - and I don't know about your thoughts, but it BOOMED here in Moultonborough, and I don't think it's only us - I would have guessed they were swimming in cash.

Strangely I would personally believe that it cost more for education due to COVID - extra PPE, buying ZOOM licenses for all faculty and staff, additional cleaning and disinfection, etc... Again, though I wouldn't have expected it to double my tax rate.

While the county sells the tax stamps - and it is a $1.50 per 100 - it goes to the State unrestricted funds with some of it being used as the State allocation to the Education Fund. Permits are municipal, along with registration - a portion to the State.

[Cal-to-NH]

I guess all I can say is if it's on the internet, it isn't all true. These are the numbers copied directly off of my 2021 and my 2022 tax bill - mailed to me, paid by me, and true...

Is it possible it's just me?

So confusing

[Cal-to-NH]

Hi folks:

I didn't realize there would be an issue over the data. should have realized that many folks don't live in Moultonborough. Unfortunately these graphs are nice to look at but don't capture what's on the tax bill. And even more unfortunate, the numbers on the tax bill seem to be the ones that are used for what I need to pay, and not the graphs you show.

To see for yourself go to
https://nhtaxkiosk.com/?KIOSKID=MOULTONBOROUGH

Type in your last name and select your property from the list
The last 10 Bills are right there. Click on the top one and that's the one we got two weeks ago. Click on the next one down and that's the last one. Look at the numbers yourself.

As far as my original question goes, I still can't figure it.

[Fred W]

Hi Cal.
Your numbers are exactly correct as we now know. I was a little surprised when people were pulling up tax rates from two years ago and telling you that your numbers were wrong.
I am new to this forum and also live in Moultonborough (only three years though). I was honestly expecting this forum to be more helpful on questions like yours.
My bill went up by $1,400 and for sure some of it was a higher assessment, as the market has risen. I understand your reasoning on why these increases in rate in this booming economy might not make sense, but I also have no idea why they went up by so much during COVID. Three people offered some thoughts, and these increases are not just Town of Moultonborough only – I have to think most people on this forum (Belknap and Carrroll counties) have these same categories on their tax bills? I am also a bit confused that we just got our bill two weeks ago and so few folks even noticed the change?
Still, I am also interested as to why. Maybe someone on this forum has more knowledge on why these tax categories nearly doubled in only one year?

[phoenix]

The official numbers published by the town assessors office has tax rate in 2020 at $7.13 and 2021 at $6.98 times your assessment

[tummyman]

Hi Fred W.
Let me try and help you though this question. First, you need to know that there are two displayed rates for tax bills. One is the rate set by the state for a "preliminary" tax bill sent out by M'boro in June. This rate is 50% of the prior year tax rate. So the first set of numbers by Cal are the preliminary rates set at 50% of the prior 2020 full year tax rate that was calculated for the December 2020 tax "final" bills for 2020. For example, the full year 2020 tax rate was $7.13....50% of it was the $3.55 set by the state for the 2021 'preliminary" bill this past June.

Now we get into what is happening to the full year tax rate of $6.98 that was used to calculate the December "final" bill you now have. First, the towns overall assessed valuations went up 10.3%....so your property assessment most likely went up, although it may or may not have gone up the 10.3% because each property has unique characteristics. The second thing is that the town elected to change the fiscal year to a July 1 - June 30 time frame instead of the former Jan-Dec. period. This meant that the town had to collect 18 months of tax revenue. However, they had to do this in the usual two billing installments...last June and now this December. So the tax bills are significantly higher this December than what would normally be expected due to the 18 month period. The town officials could have helped defray some of this added cost in the December bill in one of two ways. They could have voted to use an additional amount of unassigned funds to help reduce the tax rate. One member of the BOS (Chuck McGee) tried hard to allocate an extra $1 million dollars from this unassigned fund balance, but was rebuffed by the rest of the board, even though the balance is in excess of what the town has set as a guideline. The other way was for the board to go to NH DRA (they did not) and ask them to adjust the June billing rate to reflect the need to collect essentially 9 months of taxes in the preliminary June bill instead of using the state rate that amounted to collecting only 6 months of taxes. So now the December bill has to make this revenue shortfall up.

This now brings up a new problem that I have pointed out to the BOS Chair and the Town Administrator. The Town Administrator was no help and I had to go directly to NH DRA for guidance. The state has now given the town a 50% rate to be used in the tax bills next June. But because that rate is 50% of an 18 month budget, it is now overstated and if not adjusted, you will pay essentially 9 months of taxes next June and 3 months of taxes next December. I have been promised the BOS will take this up in the first part of the new year for some sort of resolution.

This whole thing can be confusing, but hope that I clarified it a bit. If you want to discuss it further, PM me and I'll call you.

[phoenix]

[attach]17366

[Sue Doe-Nym]

I had completely forgotten the change in fiscal years for Moultobborough, and I hope they will correct future billing, especially critical for those whose taxes are a part of their monthly mortgage payment, I think. The BOS should have listened to Chuck McGee re the millage instead of taking the easiest and more costly route.

[Descant]

Fred W, welcome to the Forum.
These tax questions come up here routinely, with the same misunderstandings repeated routinely. The key in this one, and I'm amazed it took 41 posts to get to it, is exactly what Tummyman said. You're going through a transition year to move from a calendar year to a fiscal year. Only a handful of towns have done this.
If you have a mortgage and escrow your taxes, your February escrow recalculation will put everybody in a tizzy again when the banks computer wants to raise your monthly tax escrow. It would be nice if the Town Selectmen would generate a form letter that you all could send to your respective mortgage servicing companies. Or, DRA may already have such a letter from previous towns going through this evolution.

Thanks to Tummyman for a great explanation.

[tis]

Fred W. -- and the one question you asked that tummy man didn't answer is why don't many people even realize their taxes go up. I believe a lot of it is because the bank pays their taxes monthly, included in their mortgage. I don't think some of them even look at their tax bill or maybe it isn't even sent to them. I have often wondered myself why more people don't pay attention.

[phoenix]

Not to belabor this but my assessment went up around 9% and taxes 7% which reflects the drop in tax rate so not sure what i missed

[Sue Doe-Nym]

Without sitting down with a calculator, my recollection is that our property taxes were roughly $550 higher than last year’s with an increase in our assessment of approximately $100k+/-. If 18 months of property taxes are factored in, I am thinking that there wasn’t a tax increase at all. What say you, fellow forum members?

[Cal-to-NH]

Yes,

This is exactly the answers to the question I asked. Thanks Fred for facilitating the answers that have been posted here and thanks to Tummyman for the enlightenment, and Tis for pointing out a reason why people don't really notice sometimes.