By ZACH LAIRD, InDepthNH.org

CONCORD, NH — The “Cut Our Property Taxes” group unveiled a proposal on Tuesday to create a 3 percent education income tax with a 3 percent statewide property tax, arguing it would lower local property taxes, help fund schools statewide, and raise $1 billion a year in revenue.

Shortly after Andru Volinsky announced the plan Tuesday, the Libertarian Party NH posted on X, formerly Twitter, “Governor candidate Andru Volinsky is threatening the forced conscription of millions of hours of labor. Under libertarian ethical theory, it is perfectly permissible to kill him. (not an encouragement to do so, as we wish to follow the X TOS).”

Volinsky, who said he is not a candidate for governor, responded to the tweet: “This reprehensible tweet by libertarians is what 30 years of political cowardice has spawned. The idea that a policy solution is worthy of a death threat from the libertarians and condemnation from Democratic and Republican leadership is evidence that we severely need a change in our state’s leadership.”

The X post includes a photo of Volinsky in a news article about the plan and is being reported here after the other comments and responses were added earlier to this story.

Volinsky, a lawyer, author who was part of the original Claremont education funding lawsuit in the 1990s, explained the plan at a press conference in front of the State House Tuesday morning:

The education income tax “3-3 Tax Savings Plan,” includes a $35,000 exemption per taxpayer and a $15,000 exemption per dependent. Under the plan, a two-parent household earning $100,000 with two children pays zero income tax, and a single worker or retiree would pay nothing on their first $35,000 exemption.

The statewide education property tax would include a $250,000 exemption on primary residence.

The proposal aims to spread the cost of education widely and more fairly to make schools and housing more affordable, Volinsky said.

“We need to start the conversation about how we’re going to adequately fund not just public education, but state services across the board,” Rep. Thomas Oppel, D-Canaan, said.

A tax calculator to help people determine how much they’ll save under the plan was created by Keene City Councilor Bobby Williams. The data on the website is from 2024, the last fiscal year for which all the necessary data to do tax modeling was available. The calculator is available at: https://nhtaxsavingscalculator.com/

Volinsky noted that the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute reported that the median household income is $99,000.

“The 3 percent doesn’t kick in until most people have more income than the median. The $3 statewide property tax is on assessed value… A house worth $650,000-$700,000 in East Concord with five acres — where I used to raise alpacas — is assessed at $400,000. Because it’s our primary residence, $250,000 is our exemption. If you look at the tax calculator, you’ll find the homeowner for that house sees their property taxes for schools dropped from $6,900 to $4,500,” Volinsky explained.

Concord City Councilor Aislinn Kalob said after speaking with numerous constituents, “it could not be more clear that the state of New Hampshire is failing municipalities.”

Kalob said when she heard about a flat income tax, the first thing she worried about was the heightened impact on middle- and low-income individuals.

“This plan has a number of deductions to account for that and to not put that disproportionate burden on the working class. If you are a renter and you make $35,000 or less, you will not be paying this tax (and) in addition, renters will receive a $750 tax credit,” Kalob said.

She added, “I truly, truly hope that we can find a way forward that gets us out of the over-reliance on property taxes, because it is crushing us and pitting us against one another in cities and towns.”

Williams, a small business owner, said what he appreciates most about this plan is that it “gives me a little room to breathe.”

He elaborated, saying there are both good years and bad years for small business owners, but either way he’s faced with the same property tax “no matter how well my business does.”

“If this plan was in place, it could have helped me save a couple thousand dollars which helps me make payroll; that’s important. Meanwhile, if I were to have a good year, I wouldn’t mind paying a little more… This is going to save a lot of people a lot of money,” Williams said.

Gov. Kelly Ayotte responded to the proposal and expressed her opposition in a statement released Tuesday morning.

“Absolutely not. I’ve said it before, and I will say it again – no income tax, no sales tax. Not now, not ever,” Ayotte said.

House Democratic Leader, Rep. Alexis Simpson, said: “New Hampshire House Democrats will not support an income tax. House Democrats are fighting every day for our Fair Chance Agenda, and an income tax has not and will not be considered.”

Rep. David Preece, D-Manchester, said: “This plan works well for 80 percent of NH’s taxpayers. Residents of Manchester do particularly well because the 3-3 Tax Savings Plan boosts revenue for Manchester Schools while cutting school taxes roughly in half.”

House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, R-Auburn, and Deputy Majority Leader Joe Sweeney called the plan “a billion-dollar income tax scheme cooked up by perennial tax crusader Andru Volinsky.

“Let me be perfectly clear: the ‘3-3 Plan’ is a billion-dollar income tax,” Osborne said. “The House Republican answer to income tax has not changed. Our answer is still HELL NO.”

Osborne continued, “Andru Volinsky and House Democrats think this plan would work well. They have been trying to ram an income tax down New Hampshire’s throat since the 1990s. The answer was no then. And the answer is no now.”

Former Senator and gubernatorial candidate Mark Fernald said, “Local school property taxes are unsustainable and unstable. Pretending otherwise is costing New Hampshire its future. This plan isn’t ideological. It’s arithmetic. It’s time to stop promising property tax cuts— and finally deliver them.”

The members of Cut Our Property Taxes! are: Elizabeth Hager of New Hampton, Clifton Below
of Lebanon, Mark Fernald of Sharon, Rep. Peter Lovett of Holderness, Rep. Thomas Oppel of
Canaan, Rep. David Preece of Manchester, Ted Morgan of Tamworth, and Andru Volinsky of
Concord. Technical support for Cut Our Property Taxes! was provided by the Institute for Tax
and Economic Policy (ITEP).

Reporter Nancy West contributed to this report.