By Max Bowen-max.bowen@northstarreporter.com
A new tax exemption aimed at helping small businesses and improving efficiencies at Town Hall has been approved.
The exemption, which has been recommended for the past few years, was approved unanimously by the council at its Sept. 14 meeting. It takes effect in fiscal year 2021 and applies to personal property valued at $5,000 and under which results in a tax bill of $86 or less. This threshold can be raised to $10,000, if needed. An example of purchases that would qualify for this exemption would be a company laptop or office furniture.
According to Justin Pare, chair of the Finance Subcommittee, said the shift in the tax bill would be approximately $14,000 and would be spread town-wide on over property tax bills, an increase of only several cents.
“This has been an item that has been on our agenda for some time for the town to adopt for the last three years,” said Pare.
Town Manager Michael Borg said that in the first quarter of the year, 778 bills had been issued for personal property taxes. Of these, 500 were for $50 or less. Pare said passing this exemption not only benefits the business owners, but lessens the workload at the tax collector’s office.
“The cost to pursue these bills would be more than the bill themselves,” said Borg.
