STRONG — With reduced state reimbursements and higher local costs, taxpayers will be forced to pay another 20 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.
On Tuesday night, selectmen approved the tax increase to meet commitments to run the town, pay county taxes and pay the town’s share of the SAD 58 budget.
State reimbursements for landowners who have 10 acres or more in the state-approved Tree Growth Tax Law reimbursement program will see their forestland taxed at a lower rate. The intent of the law is based on future productivity value, rather than on fair market value. More than half of the town’s land is in the Tree Growth tax shelter plan, town Assessor Robert Worthley said. Of the 17,370 acres, approximately 9,000 acres are taxed at $250 per acre instead of $1,100 per acre.
The town’s next six months of payments to SAD 58 will be approximately $4,000 more per month. The total increase of $45,655 will be spread between 2012 and 2013, because the town’s fiscal year begins in January and ends in December. The school’s fiscal year started July 1 and ends on June 30. That allows the town to prepare for the coming year’s commitment, Worthley said.
Selectmen retain $200,000 to $250,000 in surplus funds to cover approximately three months of operating costs, the minimum recommended by the town’s auditor.
The burden of taxation continues to shift from personal property taxes to real estate taxes, Worthley said. This year’s Business Equipment Tax Exemption total was $10.5 million, and the state will reimburse the town 60 percent of the lost tax revenue, or $6.3 million.
“In personal property taxation, most anything that’s new is exempt,” he said.
Last year’s reimbursement rate was 70 percent. The reimbursement will decrease to 50 percent next year.
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