The information contained in this article is not intended as legal advice and may no longer be accurate due to changes in the law. Consult NHMA's legal services or your municipal attorney.
Jack Wozmak is the County Treasurer of Cheshire County. Any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of NHMA.
Let’s stop pretending we don’t know why New Hampshire’s property taxes keep going up. The truth isn’t complicated, and it’s not hidden. It’s just politically inconvenient.
For ten years, the State of New Hampshire has been quietly pulling money out of education, municipal aid, retirement contributions, nursing homes, and other essential services — and then leaving local taxpayers to clean up the mess. The total bill: $3 billion shifted onto towns, cities, counties, and school districts.
When you compare that downshift to the actual increase in statewide property-tax collections over the same period, you get a number that should outrage every taxpayer in the state: Over the past 10 years, there has been a $1.28 billion increase in local property taxes, according to the Department of Revenue Administration. The state has forced $3 billion down on to the local tax base. Schools and municipalities have worked feverishly to offset this downshifting but there is simply not enough room within local municipal budgets to absorb all the downshifting. That equates to a 234% downshift impact.
If the state had simply kept its commitments and not pushed costs downhill, New Hampshire’s total property-tax levy today would be lower than it was a decade ago. It means every penny of property-tax growth over the decade is because state leaders walked away from their obligations.
School districts got hit worst — $2.1 billion. About 70% of the entire downshift landed on local schools. Why? Because whenever the state cuts aid or underfunds special education, districts are legally required to step in. They don’t have a choice.
Municipalities absorbed $600 million. When the state stopped paying its share of the retirement system, towns and cities had to cover it. When municipal aid dried up, towns had to raise more locally. When road and public-safety funding shrank they raised property taxes.
Counties absorbed another $300 million. Most of this comes from Medicaid nursing home reimbursement shortfalls. The state made promises; counties had to pay the actual bills. And again, the tool they have is the property tax.
Meanwhile, the state budget routinely reports surpluses. The Rainy-Day Fund grows. Legislators brag about “fiscal discipline.” But that discipline only exists because local property taxpayers have been forced to make up billions in missing state support.
Let’s be clear: New Hampshire doesn’t need a sales tax or an income tax to fix this. It doesn’t need new revenue streams. It simply needs the state to stop raiding local budgets to make the state budget look good.
If lawmakers want to deliver real property-tax relief — not sound bites or blame-shifting — then the path is simple: End the downshifting.