Local Government Finance - Reports

• Trends in New Hampshire County Government Finances 1996-2004 (09-01-2006)

  This report provides information on the levels of, and trends in, county expenditures, analyzes the changing revenue structure of counties, and assesses the implications in light of broad demographic changes occurring in New Hampshire.

• Shifting the Load: Cost, Effects, and the Potential Impact of Property-Tax Relief for New Hampshire's Seniors (02-01-2005)

  This report examines programs, implemented locally, to reduce property taxes on low-to-moderate income senior citizens. Statewide, more than 11,000 households received these tax exemptions in 2003 at a cost of more than $16 million—a cost shifted onto the other property-tax payers in the state. The cost for the 2004 tax year is likely to be at least $17.6 million. State law requires towns to provide small exemptions, and most towns have voted to extend much more generous tax breaks. The paper includes a table showing each town’s exemption levels, the number of exemptions claimed in each town, and the impact on each town’s property tax. The paper concludes that intergenerational tax equity issues are likely to grow more contentious as the size of the state’s senior population grows by 91 percent in the next 10 years.