By Guy Page
Gov. Phil Scott today signed into law S.160, abating State education property taxes and flood-related damage.
The new law reimburse a municipality for certain State education property tax payments if the municipality granted State education property tax abatements to property owners for damage caused by flooding. This bill also proposes to exclude federal disaster relief payments from household income when calculating the homestead property tax credit.
The bill was introduced in January by Sen. Ann Cummings (D-Washington) and co-sponsored by Sens. Philip Baruth, Christopher Bray, Thomas Chittenden, Brian Collamore, Ruth Hardy, Wendy Harrison, M. Jane Kitchel, Virginia Lyons, Kesha Ram Hinsdale, Anne Watson, Richard Westman, and Rebecca White.
The Joint Fiscal Office estimates this bill will cost $ 1.1 million to the Education Fund in fiscal year 2024. Absent any other changes in policy, the statewide homestead property yield and/or statewide nonhomestead property tax rate will need to be adjusted to account for the anticipated cost of reimbursements.
Washington County, Cummings’ home county, was particularly hard-hit during the July floods. Many properties in Montpelier, Berlin, Waterbury and Montpelier were destroyed, including most of the homes in several mobile home parks. Mobile home owners, in particular, sought and received municipal property tax abatements from their local boards of adjustment. S.160 in practice passes along the duty to pay the lost tax revenue from the municipal property taxpayers to all Vermont property taxpayers.
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Categories: Legislation
looks like my property taxes will go up to make up for the loss/// the key board thumpers must still be in bed///
There’s the 20% increase baked into the new law for flood damage set up and teed up. Notice how costs of natural disasters end up on everyone’s tax and utility bills? If a household budget goes bust, the individuals have to figure out a way to cut and sacrifice. Yet, the State of Vermont has a flush revenue stream, aka taxpayers, they can shake down every year with impunity – they never have to cut or sacrifice a dime, just add another billion every year and keep that tincup outstretched and running over. Thieves.
I wonder how many households received their $250-$275 Rebate check in the summer of 2022 from the SURPLUS of the Education Funds? Hmmmmmm. You can read about the surplus, entitled “Scott would return $45 million in Ed Fund surplus to taxpayers, spend rest on tech centers” dated March 9, 2022, here on Vermont Daily Chronicle. Where did all that SURPLUS really go? Can we get an accurate REAL accounting?
Excellent question – what say you Governor or State Treasurer? Perhaps it went to the same pockets as the multi-millions for broadband that never gets completed, but funded with millions more nonetheless. Thieves and lying liars from Liarsville.