Good news. Our State officials are finally going to remedy the unfairness involved in our property taxes. Excellent! About time, you might say. You probably assume that this will result in lowering the taxes – at least for most of us, right? Do I really have to answer that? Well, if you assumed anything about any tax in our fine State being lowered, you would be wrong. In this case the fix involves making sure wealthy Vermonters don’t get a break on their property tax bill.
The unfairness stems from the fact that some Vermonters with low incomes have very valuable real estate. They can receive up to $8,000 back on the property tax bill through our beloved income sensitivity process.
Example: Trust fund hippy has $2 million stock portfolio and $2 million lake front property. Her tax bill is $20,000 per year. Her stock portfolio pays out $50,000 a year to her in dividends -barely enough to keep her in hemp skirts and clove cigarettes. To avoid the indignity of having his daughter’s only travel itinerary involving a long weekend romp in the Queen City once a year – something about a “420” rally – daddy opens his check book quarterly to pay for her to go to exotic places of her choice. So, she travels extensively to places like Jamaica, Amsterdam and Russia. And then once a year around April 15th her accountant calls to tell her that her Vermont tax rebate will be $8,000 this year. She rips into her accountant as to why its only $8,000 – it used to be $10,000 and she had plans for that money! (Note: the State lowered the amount already from $10,000 to $8,000 for cases such as this).
Any sympathy for our taxpayer? No? Really? Of course not, when it’s presented from that angle. Why would anyone be opposed to taking this break away from somebody who is wealthy? How about this twist – assume our taxpayer is a family of five and that both parents work and make $50,000 a year combined. They have no stock portfolio. They can barely clothe their children after paying out $20,000 a year in property taxes but desperately want to keep the family home they grew up in. Any sympathy yet? What if that home is all that is left of the once proud family farm, which has been sold off for generations to pay and pay and pay some more for property taxes. Can you get behind that taxpayer?
I can make up stupid scenarios all day long and probably convince you that some “wealthy” people are deserving of getting $8,000 back and some aren’t. But the issue here is why we aren’t we talking about the real problem. Why is it OK to pay $20,000 in property taxes? Why isn’t an adjusted $12,000 property tax bill enough? How could we be so accustomed to outrageous taxes that a taxpayer in our State could be forced to sell his home because the property taxes are so high?
I have two solutions: First, let the taxpayer sell the home and move to the Carolinas or most any other state. Pay that other state a few thousand instead of $20,000 and dream of Vermont changing its ways some day; Second, stop feeding the pig!! Vermont is a monstrously fat pig with a voracious appetite for taxes. Let’s slim her down just a tad…
The Bean Counter 3/28/10 ( Mike Francis, CFO)
Good news. Our State officials are finally going to remedy the unfairness involved in our property taxes. Excellent! About time, you might say. You probably assume that this will result in lowering the taxes – at least for most of us, right? Do I really have to answer that? Well, if you assumed anything about any tax in our fine State being lowered, you would be wrong. In this case the fix involves making sure wealthy Vermonters don’t get a break on their property tax bill.
According to the VT Economy Newsletter (VEN), the national health insurance reform proposals call for a huge increase in new spending. And, Congress has decided to solve the problem by coming up with about half of the needed funds through savings in the Medicare program. VEN can’t believe that the media buys into this scheme and neither can I. Medicare is a program that we all know has been in dire need of reform for years because its finances are out of balance. Now it is the source of surplus funds for a new proposal? Luckily, Massachusetts voters may have saved us all from a huge, huge debacle. Scott Brown for President!
Chris Bertrand, Field Engineer
Rick is completing his 4th year as a carpenter and his 1st year as a SHARP Committee member. Last year he was a runner-up. He has distinguished himself with his unrelenting pursuit of safety perfection on our jobsites. Not only does he observe and correct problems, but he spends time explaining the consequences of unsafe activity and how to correct it. Rick is a first rate safety advocate and a tremendous asset to our program. 
No, this is not a misprint. Dave prevailed in a very close vote to repeat as our Safety Superintendent of the Year. That's quite an honor and a huge measure of respect that fellow employees have for him. Dave has been with DEW for 7 1/2 years and is currently completing work at the Congregational Church in Burlington. .jpg)
A Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and Open House was held on Friday, December 18, 2009 for the new Tram Haus Lodge at Jay Peak. Many folks, including the DEW Project Team, braved the freezing conditions to help Jay Peak celebrate the official opening of the new $18 + million dollar lodge. 
