Bill Bolton: The goal is to stop state from downshifting costs to local property tax

To The Daily Sun,

Despite statements that have been made about me to the contrary, I am unequivocally opposed to an income tax. In fact, I hope to work in the legislature to lessen the burden of property taxes and if elected I would prioritize ending the downshifting of costs and responsibility to municipalities without imposing any broad-based tax.

Shifting taxation to local taxpayers is not sustainable. It has had an outsized impact on property poor towns and has specifically hurt many areas of District 2, including my hometown of Plymouth. With much of the property in Plymouth being university-owned, the tax burden falls on local residents. Here, our taxes have risen by 17 percent since the Great Recession. All across the district and across New Hampshire, folks are pleading for the state to stop passing the buck to the towns and municipalities.

In the state Senate, I will fight to restore shared revenue to our towns and lower our property taxes without implementing an income tax. As chair of the Plymouth Selectboard and a tax-paying citizen of Plymouth, I know all too well the increased tax burden that has been placed on towns, especially those with low property values, when shared revenue from the state is gutted. Downshifting costs to our towns not only places a heavy burden on us as taxpayers, it is also an abdication of responsibility from the state. I hope to earn your vote and look forward to implementing solutions without increasing the tax burden on Granite Staters.

Bill Bolton

Plymouth