Full and original posted on The Gardner News
As a property owner in the city for 24 years and former small-business owner, the topic of property taxes and our ill-conceived dual-tax rate has been a hot one of mine for some time.
Furthermore, the large number of tax-exempt properties in our city puts taxpayers, particularly businesses, at a disadvantage and is exacerbated by the dual-tax rate scheme.
One option previously suggested to the City Council was to look to this disproportionate amount of tax-exempt property owners to pay their fair share — think of it as “tax equity.” When I wrote the council in February 2021 with this suggestion, the majority did not even bother to respond. Then-Councilmen Matt Walley and Gary Rosen did, and both expressed general support of the concept.
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