The Choice for Merrimack 13
An Independent Voice Dedicated to Pittsfield and Chichester
If someone wanted to find the most unfair, cruel and regressive tax imaginable, they would need to look no further than the New Hampshire property tax which doesn’t care how much you earn, doesn’t care whether you are sick, doesn’t care whether you have millions in cash assets or don’t have a penny—you pay it or get tossed out of your home. No other state in the country relies on property taxes as the primary method of funding the education of children.
The current legislature has shifted many obligations that were formerly addressed at a state level to the towns while cutting sources of income so that more burdens are placed on those who pay property taxes. They eliminated the Interest and Dividends tax that was largely paid by the wealthy. I would advocate for reinstating it and raising the level at which it kicks in so that those now struggling to make ends meet get relief.
We need to stop forcing citizens to choose between the education of their children and keeping their homes.
I am running for state representative to work to give average people a break—on the first day of entering the House of Representatives I will file a bill to establish a commission to study and report on all viable alternatives to the property tax. This commission will be required to present a full report to the people within a year. I served on a similar commission set up to study the decriminalization of cannabis which resulted in a report that presented a range of options for citizens and legislators.
My other major area of focus would be to address the housing crisis in New Hampshire. We need to get rid of unnecessary obstacles that make sufficient housing options unavailable.
Legalization of Cannabis for Adults
Although retail sales of cannabis are currently not allowed in NH, anyone of any age can currently easily get it either through the retail stores that are placed right over our border in Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont or from drug dealers more than willing to sell to anyone including children.
This means that not only do we lose out on large amounts of tax revenue that could lower property taxes, but we have no effective restrictions on sales to children. Furthermore, there are no health restrictions on illegally sold marijuana—it can and is often laced with dangerous drugs like fentanyl and harmful pesticides. The potency is often unknown to the buyer.
Retail stores under state regulation would have enforceable restrictions on sales to minors and would be grown in a safe manner with restrictions on added chemicals and pesticides. The profits generated by regulated sales could be used to offset the crushing property taxes burdening the people of NH.
Property Tax
Comparisons
New Hampshire property tax rates are set per $1,000 of assessed value and combine four components: municipal, county, state education, and local education. Rates vary dramatically across the state's 259 municipalities, from a low of $5.33 to a high of $36.54 per $1,000. The average property tax rate in NH is about $17.10 per thousand. Pittsfield and Chichester rates in 2025 were $17.82 and $17.83, respectively. (2025 data, NH Dept. of Revenue Administration).
Let's take two similar properties.
Pittsfield. 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath home, 2642 sq ft, on 2.8 acres, built in 2019. Price $550,000.
Taxes $9,029
Alton. 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath home, 2196 sq ft, on 5 acres, built in 1988. Price $625,000.
Taxes $4,545
Alton, like many lakeside and resort communities in the state, benefits from many summer homes. Alton collects property taxes, but summer homes do not send children to the Alton schools and they typically require far less investment of town resources. All of which helps explain why Pittsfield was so bitter when the NH Supreme Court ruled that Pittsfield must pay Prospect Mountain (the Alton area high school) over $600,000 for back tuition for open enrollment students. This Supreme Court decision resulted in a stampede of towns restricting open enrollment because of the risk of large liabilities.
Given all this, the central question is: Why does NH rely on the property tax to fund the education of its students?
Property Taxes:
The Ugly Reality
Wide rate variation. 2025 municipal tax rates ranged from $2.62 to $36.54 per $1,000 of assessed value across New Hampshire's 259 municipalities.
Heavy reliance on property taxes. Property taxes account for 61% of local public revenue in New Hampshire — the highest share of any U.S. state.
Regressive burden. Lower-income families pay roughly three times the share of their income toward property taxes than high earners do (5.9% vs. 2%), driven largely by New Hampshire's reliance on local property taxes to fund public education.
Assessment regressivity. National research cited by the NH Fiscal Policy Institute shows property assessors tend to overvalue (and thus overtax) lower-priced homes while undervaluing (and thus under-taxing) higher-priced homes, compounding the burden on lower-value properties.
Local funding of education. Because New Hampshire funds public education primarily through local property taxes, towns with lower overall property values must set higher tax rates to raise comparable per-pupil funding.
Source: NH Department of Revenue Administration, 2025