HB1293

I oppose HB 1293, and request that you find it Inexpedient To Legislate. Many non-profit and charitable organizations in NH provide a safety net that our municipalities could never cover. To tax properties valued in excess of $1mil could mean the difference in them providing services to 10 more families or being able to remain open altogether. There are also non-profits that serve other non-profits (an example is David's House in Lebanon) who would be greatly impacted in the services they can provide if their property tax rate were to increase. There are organizations that never turn a family away - even while municipal budgets run dry for public assistance - that would be forced to do so if this bill passes.

I am a Board member of the Wright Museum of WWII in Wolfeboro. In this capacity, I am painfully aware of the difficulty that discretionary organizations such as our museum are experiencing in making ends meet in today's high cost of living environment. HB1293 would add tens of thousands of dollars to the Wright Museum's annual expenses, potentially increasing the cost of attendance for the Museum's visitors and/or reducing the museum's effectiveness in achieving its important educational mission. A large proportion of our visitors are New Hampshire residents, including many students from schools all across the state. These students, and all of our visitors from around the world, treasure the rich experience and the emotional connection to the Greatest Generation that the Wright Museum provides. This important benefit to the public experience would be threatened by HB 1293. Therefore, I strongly oppose HB 1293, and recommend that it be withdrawn."

I want nonprofits to continue to do the good, hard work they do and not face more barriers while already doing so much.

My name is Santina Thibedeau, Board Chair of Dismas Home, and I am here today to respectfully oppose legislation that would require nonprofit organizations that own property to pay property taxes. Nonprofits across New Hampshire provide essential services that the state and private sector cannot meet alone. They operate on limited budgets and exist solely to serve their communities. Requiring them to pay property taxes would place a significant financial strain on these organizations, forcing them to divert already scarce resources away from programs and people in need. This proposal would be especially harmful to residential nonprofits, whose properties are not assets for profit but the foundation of their mission. One such organization is Dismas Home of New Hampshire, a nonprofit that provides justice-involved women with substance use disorders a safe and supportive home where they can reclaim their lives with stability, accountability, and purpose. The home itself is central to Dismas Home’s work. If the organization were required to pay property taxes, funds currently used for housing, recovery support, and staffing would instead go toward tax payments. This could result in fewer beds, reduced services, or the inability to continue operating. The women served by Dismas Home would face increased risks of relapse, reincarceration and homelessness. The long-term cost to the state would far exceed any short-term revenue generated. Nonprofits like Dismas Home reduce recidivism, lower emergency service use, and strengthen our communities—saving taxpayer dollars in the process. Property tax exemptions for nonprofits are not a loophole; they are a recognition of the public good these organizations provide. I urge you to oppose this legislation and protect the nonprofit partners that help New Hampshire’s most vulnerable residents succeed. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Non-profit organizations are picking up the slack when the Federal and State agencies are not meeting the needs of a community (e.g. for food, housing, medical services, mental health services, etc.), and they struggle with balancing their own budgets. Do not use non-profits to solve the current state budget shortfall. If NH needs to raise revenue to meet the needs of the citizens, authorize taxes on those who have money.

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I am a Board member of the Wright Museum of WWII in Wolfeboro. In this capacity, I am painfully aware of the difficulty that discretionary organizations such as our museum are experiencing in making ends meet in today's high cost of living environment. HB1293 would add tens of thousands of dollars to the Wright Museum's annual expenses, potentially increasing the cost of attendance for the Museum's visitors and/or reducing the museum's effectiveness in achieving its important educational mission. A large proportion of our visitors are New Hampshire residents, including many students from schools all across the state. These students, and all of our visitors from around the world, treasure the rich experience and the emotional connection to the Greatest Generation that the Wright Museum provides. This important benefit to the public experience would be threatened by HB 1293. Therefore, I strongly oppose HB 1293, and recommend that it be withdrawn.

Testimony in Opposition to HB 1293 House Ways and Means Committee Dear Chairman Janigan and members of the Committee, My name is Rev. Michael S. Bennett, and I serve on the Board of Our Place NH, a nonprofit organization creating homes for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. I respectfully urge you to vote against House Bill 1293, which would impose property taxes on nonprofit-owned property valued over $1 million. As our board chair has already testified, “Our Place NH has worked to raise funds and secure property in Dover where we plan to build homes for 11 adults with developmental disabilities. New Hampshire urgently needs this kind of housing. Today, nearly 75% of adults with developmental disabilities live with aging parents, many of whom worry every day about what will happen when they can no longer provide care. Our Place NH exists to offer a simple but powerful answer: a real home, in community, with dignity and belonging. “Creating and sustaining this kind of housing is challenging. Operating costs exceed the rent our future residents can afford. Like many nonprofits, we rely on ongoing fundraising to close that gap. If property taxes are added to our expenses, the result will be fewer homes, longer waiting lists, and families left without options. When supportive housing is unavailable, the state ultimately bears greater costs through emergency placements and crisis services. Investing in stable, community-based homes is not only compassionate—it is fiscally responsible.” As a retired pastor in this community, I am aware of good works being done by so many non-profits. Please do not advance HB 1293. This amendment would make an already difficult situation even harder for families and individuals who are counting on solutions like ours. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Rev. Michael S. Bennett Dover NH

Will cause incredible hardship on valuable services not covered by other means. Not a respectable way to generate funds.

In the present climate with state and federal money being cut, is no time to be adding taxes to nonprofit organizations.

These non profits help so many people it would be a sin to vote this bill in PLEASE VOTE NO!!!!!!

I am a member of the United Church of Christ. This bill ignores many non-profit organizations’ contributions to the community. Some churches, non-profits offering food cupboards, daycare, resources for unhoused populations, and more could face closure if this bill is passed. Requiring affected non-profits to negotiate with local municipalities for a reduced taxation rate on value exceeding one million puts a burden on stretched and under-staffed organizations. I urge the Committee to consider the ramifications and stop this bill from going forward.

I work at Visions for Creative Housing Solutions, a small nonprofit that provides housing and support for adults with developmental disabilities in Enfield, Lebanon, and Hanover. This allows the people we serve to live fuller, more independent lives with greater stability and and security for the future than they have had with other housing options. This bill would significantly increase the cost of running this program, likely driving up the rent that our residents have to pay. Given the very limited income available to most people with significant disabilities in New Hampshire, this would be a significant burden on our residents, threatening the lives they have built and making these opportunities harder to access. Visions is the only organization I know intimately, but I am sure there are many other vitally important services that would be threatened in similar ways. Please vote to protect them.

This bill is incredibly predatory on the local nonprofits who are working hard to support communities that have lost so many resources recently, and are under active attack from funding both federally and locally. Go add taxes for the properties that do not serve our greater communities, such as secondary or tertiary private properties if you need additional funding.

Please do not pass this bill and jeopardize our non profits ability to stay open….

The loss of charitable property tax exemptions will disrupt the financial ability of these organizations to meet the essential needs of those they serve. The recipients of there services are the emotionally and financially needy people of our community.

This bill is extremely detrimental to non-profits and may have unintended consequences for the cities they are located in, I work at the Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter, which provides many necessary services to low-income individuals and families in the greater Nashua area. Our service area includes Hudson, Merrimack, Amherst, and Milford. To force us to pay property tax while running on a deficit budget is counterproductive to us being able to serve our community. We ask that HB 1293 be deemed inexpedient to legislate.

This is a punitive bill that will hurt many non profita

The Tax and Spend Republicans at it again. Just dump on the poor and those who help them. We have a tax on those Republicans in November. The Ballot Box. Clean Sweep coming...

I was in the Monadnock Center for Culture and History in Peterborough, a non-profit historical society and community gathering place and was alerted to this bill by the director. If passed, this bill would threaten its existence since the property taxes in Peterborough are so high, and it would blow a huge hole in their budget. This is true of any other non-profit with property worth more than 1.1 million. Then what? we lose all these entities for good in communities. What about MacDowell in Peterborough and the Harris Center in Hancock and the The USS Albacore site in Portsmouth, as well as Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth? Please vote against this bill, and find another way to raise money…..

These vetted organizations are deemed to be serving some mission to improve our community. I'd rather they do it than more BIG government. They do a lot more good for me and my neighbors than the infinitesimal benefit we get from more tax breaks for the wealthy this change would be going to subsidize. Sad.

I strongly oppose this bill because it will weaken our non-profits which do so much to help our communities and local citizens. Now that Federal assistance is being gutted, we need the non-profit sector more than ever. Furthermore, I consider this part of an overall strategy by the libertarian and hard-right members of our legislature to weaken the public schools and the non-profit sector. I don't like it!!! This is not the New Hampshire Way. Please deem this proposed piece of legislation as inexpedient to legislate!

This bill would harm many non-profits, especially Christian/Charitable organizations that operate at a loss or heavily through donations. Also, with the current issues with property valuations, there is significant concern with how buildings and use are valued. As a private ciItizen and also on behalf of the Board of Directors for Camp Maranatha in New Durham, I am opposed to this bill.

This bill will hurt nonprofits that provide valuable resources to residents and also that help preserve the environment which is a valuable financial resource for the state.