Selectmen to ask voters to approve elderly tax exemption

By David Carkhuff

The average homeowner's Conway tax bill will increase by $2 if voters pass an increased tax exemption for elderly citizens.On Tuesday, selectmen voted 5-0 to allow tax assessor Tom Holmes to draft a warrant article with a 30 percent increase in the elderly exemption for 2004. Seventy-nine seniors receive the exemption. This reduction in valuation allows citizens ages 65-75 to deduct $25,000 from their assessed valuation, seniors 75-80 to deduct $40,000 from their assessed valuation and seniors over 80 to deduct $50,000 from their assessed valuation. Assessed valuation is the base value of a property against which taxes are levied.A 30 percent increase would remove $945,000 from the tax base, Holmes said, based on 2003 assessments. To make up the difference, the average homeowner's tax bill would increase from $2,365.20 to $2,367.64, not including fire and precinct assessments, if assessments remained level, Holmes reported. The average home value in Conway is $135,000 for a single-family residence.If voters granted the heightened exemption, seniors could at least partially blunt the rise in property values that drove up taxes on many properties. The respective deductions would become $32,500, $52,000 and $65,000. To qualify for the exemption, a senior citizen must be a New Hampshire resident for at least five years; own the real estate in question either individually or jointly (if a spouse owns the property, the couple must have been married for at least five years); the applicant must have a net income of less than $19,000 or, if married, a combined income of less than $25,000; and the applicant must own net assets not to exceed $50,000, which doesn't count the value of the residence.Holmes first asked selectmen to consider a change in the exemption on Jan. 6. However, Holmes said he also wants to pursue a legislative solution that ties the exemption to percentage swings in the market. Prior to such a move, the 30 percent increase will be expressed as a dollar amount on the warrant article due to legal requirements. At the Jan. 6 meeting, Holmes illustrated how rising property valuations can hurt senior citizens on fixed incomes. An 81-year-old owner of a home which rose in value from $100,000 to $150,000 could receive double the tax bill. Instead of paying taxes on $50,000 in property, that owner would pay taxes on $100,000 worth of property under the current exemption, he explained.