Clark Touches on High N.H. Property Tax
1 hour, 1 minute ago
BY J.M. HIRSCH, Associated Press Writer
LACONIA, N.H. - Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark (news - web sites) said Saturday that one reason New Hampshire property taxes are high is the state has no income or general sales tax.
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"Some of the responsibility for your high property taxes is a function of your state government and leadership in the state," Clark said in response to a question at a campaign stop.
High property taxes are a perennial political issue in New Hampshire, which holds the first presidential primary Jan. 27. After gingerly touching on the issue, the retired Army general quickly backed off.
In a brief interview after his appearance, Clark said he did not intend his remarks as criticism of New Hampshire's tax system, which he said is the responsibility of the state's lawmakers and voters.
"I'm not passing judgment on it one way or another," he said.
Clark was responding to a teacher who complained that underfunding of the federal No Child Left Behind Act was driving up local property taxes. Clark said he would fully fund the act and reform it, reducing the financial burden on communities.
"To be honest with you, in New Hampshire you don't have a sales tax for most of your purchases, and you don't have an income tax and most states do," he said to a large round of applause.
Only New Hampshire and Alaska have neither general sales nor income taxes, and Alaska has substantial oil revenues.
Despite ranking sixth in per capita income, New Hampshire for decades was last or nearly last among the states in state support for schools. In the 1990s, the state Supreme Court ruled that such heavy reliance on widely varying local property taxes to pay for schools was unconstitutional.
After a bitter debate in which income and sales taxes were rejected, the state enacted a uniform-rate statewide property tax, prompting howls of protest from property-wealthy towns that had to subsidize schools in poor towns.
The battle continues, with anti-tax Gov. Craig Benson, a Republican, pushing for a constitutional amendment to keep courts out of the school-funding debate. Critics say the result would be further increases in local property taxes. |
