Property Tax Alert: New Hampshire

January 2007

The selective imposition of New Hampshire property taxes on a telecommunications company for the use and occupation of public property by its poles and wires violated the company's right to equal protection and constituted unequal treatment. The New Hampshire statutes mandate that every license agreement for the use and occupation of city property include a provision requiring the party using or occupying the property to pay the property taxes. In this case, the taxpayer's use and occupation of the city's property was identical to that of other utility companies. However, the city only inserted the provision imposing the tax in the taxpayer's license agreement and failed to include the provision in the agreements for any of the other utility companies. This selective taxation was both contrary to statute and discriminatory. Additionally, although further findings and rulings on the issue of abatement were unnecessary, the court addressed the fair market value of use and occupation of public property to set the precedent.

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