Tax Exemptions

Concord voted to keep it's property tax exemption for the blind this month, making it the largest exemption of any New Hampshire community. The vote highlighted the debate over tax exemptions. One side feels that these tax breaks shift the burden on to other residents while the other side feels this is the best way to ease the financial burden on elderly and blind taxpayers. We'll look at New Hampshire's tax exemptions, who has them, who doesn't...and what the impact on the bottom line is. Laura's guests are Maura Carroll, General Counsel for the NH Municipal Association and Steve Norton, Executive Director of the NH Center for Public Policy Studies. The center released a report in 2005 on these tax exemptions, entitled Shifting the Load (PDF).