If you, dear readers, feel as I do that the current property assessing and taxing practices in New Hampshire are often unfair and inequitable, then I invite you to join me at an upcoming grievance hearing in the NH House on October, 20th.
I believe that my property is not fairly taxed so I appealed for redress to the NH Legislature in Concord. They granted me a hearing which is set for Thursday, October 20th at 10 a.m. in Room 303 of Legislative Office Building, the LOB, (directly behind the state house with the gold dome.)
Representative Duffy Daugherty, Coos District 1, has presented my petition. Among other things, Mr. Daugherty, on my behalf, is attempting to stop the towns and assessors from applying “separate subjective factors such as those related to views as indicated on current property cards.”
Yes, I am referring to the odious “View Tax.”
Let’s face facts. If five non-collaborating assessors come to a property on five different days, it is almost certain that five different tax values will result. The reason is simple. There are no written guidelines for assessing views leaving assessors to play the “I’ll know its value when I see it” game.
This is the sort of arbitrary tax that Mad King George the 3rd of England would have loved to impose on the subjects in the colonies! We all know how that story ended.
I cannot imagine that I am the only property owner in the state who feels this way. If you believe that your own property is not fairly assessed, for any reason, I invite you to come to Room 303, LOB in Concord on October 20th. This discussion on a potentially dull subject should prove to be pretty interesting.
Frank M. Handibode
Hebron
PETITION FOR REDRESS OF GRIEVANCE
TO: The Honorable House of Representatives
FROM: Petitioner Representative Duffy Daugherty, Coos 1
DATE: September 27, 2011
SUBJECT: Grievance of Frank M. Handibode, Hebron, New Hampshire
Wherefore, your Petitioner prays that the House of Representatives consider this proposed remedy:
The New Hampshire House of Representatives shall authorize a study and oversight committee to conduct a full and complete top-to-bottom review of the New Hampshire property assessment, taxation, and appeal processes for the purpose of overhauling these processes to include developing and recommending such necessary legal and administrative changes that will ensure all New Hampshire taxpaying property owners receive the maximum protection and fairness due them. Such changes shall include enforcing the use of realistic, verifiable, current, and truly comparable property values, using only recognized and clearly objective and measurable real estate and building evaluation criteria with no application of separate subjective factors such as those related to views as indicated on current property cards, and requiring only complete, accurate, and correct property and personal information and data that will result in the derivation of honest, fair, equitable, and understandable property assessments for the property-owning taxpaying citizens of New Hampshire.
Respectfully submitted by Petitioner Representative Daugherty on Behalf of
Frank M. Handibode.
