Steven Emanuelli: Tax idea has merit, but numbers don't quite work

To The Daily Sun,

In reply to Mr. Whalen's letter of July 15, I will agree it has some merit, but I do believe his math is off. He proposes that a person over the age of 70 shouldn't pay school taxes if he has paid them for 5 years. The average family in New Hampshire is 3.1 people. That does not differentiate between father, mother and one child, or single parent and two children. For the sake of argument, Lets say 2 children. The average age between siblings is 2.5 years. Using these numbers, it would take a minimum of 26 years of schooling from kindergarten to senior year of high school crammed into a 16 year minimum.

Now, as we all know, Mr. Whalen's education was paid for by his parents, and whatever communities he grew up in, as school costs are paid for by property taxes, which is our norm. Now I am 70 years old and have been paying property taxes for over 40 years, and I believe that I have just finished paying the costs of what it took to educate my two sons through high school. So, if you would like to use these figures to revise your proposal, I would be 100% behind you. But remember, there is still the costs of city services and county fees that won't let you off scott-free. 

Steven Emanuelli

Laconia