Tax Rate Increases in Windham
October 24, 2008
Pelham-Windham News
Windham property owners will be paying higher taxes due to an increase in the 2008 tax rate, which was set by the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Assessment (DRA) earlier this month.
Town Administrator David Sullivan announced the new numbers during the selectmen’s board meeting on Monday, October 20.
According to Sullivan, the 2008 tax rate has been set at $18 per $1,000 of property valuation. This compares with a 2007 tax rate of $16.10, translating into a $1.90 per $1,000 increase over last year’s tax rate.
As for the breakdown on the overall tax rate, the town portion of the 2008 assessment is $3.51 per $1,000 property valuation. The local school portion of the 2008 tax rate is $11.41 per $1,000 property valuation. The State School tax rate for 2008 is $2.20 per $1,000 property valuation. And the county portion of the 2008 tax rate, which saw a slight decrease from last year, is now set at 88 cents per $1,000 property valuation.
Sullivan said that the average home in Windham (approximately $400,000 in value) will see an increased tax burden for 2008 of about $800 over what was paid last year. Based on a $400,000 home, with a tax rate of $18 per $1,000 property valuation, the 2008 tax bill on that property will be about $7,200.
Sullivan said one of the major reasons for the increased tax rate is the fact that there was little increase in revenue this year due largely to the stagnant economy. During 2008, Windham saw only a one percent increase in net revenue. In recent years that increase has been about 4 percent, Sullivan said.
Tax Assessor Rex Norman said that the current equalization rate for Windham is at 105 percent, which indicates that property in Windham is assessed about five percent higher than market value. If the equalization rate were at 100 percent, then the tax assessment and the market value would be the same.