The Londonderry Town Council will explore expanding the Veterans Tax Credit to more veterans.
In its April 3 meeting, the Council discussed RSA 72:28-b, a state law passed last year that enables municipalities, if they wish, to expand the tax credit for armed services veterans beyond the current parameters.
What they offer now
The town currently offers the standard veterans’ tax credit according to RSA 72:28, which offers a $500 tax credit to the following:
Every resident of this state who served not less than 90 days on active service in the armed forces of the United States in any qualifying war or armed conflict listed in this section and was honorably discharged or an officer honorably separated from service; or the spouse or surviving spouse of such resident, provided that Title 10 training for active duty by a member of a national guard or reserve shall be included as service under this subparagraph;
(b) Every resident of this state who was terminated from the armed forces because of service-connected disability; or the surviving spouse of such resident; and
(c) The surviving spouse of any resident who suffered a service-connected death. V. Service in a qualifying war or armed conflict shall be as follows:
(a) “World War I’’ between April 6, 1917 and November 11, 1918, extended to April 1, 1920 for service in Russia; provided that military or naval service on or after November 12, 1918 and before July 2, 1921, where there was prior service between April 6, 1917 and November 11, 1918 shall be considered as World War I service;
(b) “World War II’’ between December 7, 1941 and December 31, 1946
(c) “Korean Conflict’’ between June 25, 1950 and January 31, 1955;
(d) “Vietnam Conflict’’ between December 22, 1961 and May 7, 1975;
(e) “Vietnam Conflict’’ between July 1, 1958 and December 22, 1961, if the resident earned the Vietnam service medal or the armed forces expeditionary medal;
(f) “Persian Gulf War’’ between August 2, 1990 and the date thereafter prescribed by Presidential proclamation or by law; and
(g) Any other war or armed conflict that has occurred since May 8, 1975, and in which the resident earned an armed forces expeditionary medal or theater of operations service medal
RSA 72:28-b opens the tax credit to “A person shall qualify for the all veterans’ tax credit if the person is a resident of this state who served not less than 90 days on active service in the armed forces of the United States and was honorably discharged or an officer honorably separated from service; or the spouse or surviving spouse of such resident, provided that Title 10 training for active duty by a member of a national guard or reserve shall be included as service under this paragraph; provided however that the person is not eligible for and is not receiving a credit under RSA 72:28 or RSA 72:35.”
Something to Think About
Council Chair Tom Dolan said, “Last year’s Council took up this discussion. The tax credit for Londonderry veterans is currently $500, for veterans who served during certain dates.”
Dolan said one of the issues facing the current Council is that they don’t know how many veterans will apply for this, and how it will affect the other residents’ taxes.
A change currently being discussed in the Legislature would allow the town to phase in the tax credit, before it got to the full $500, Dolan said. The law as it currently stands does not allow phasing-in.
“In the near future we will discuss if we want to extend the tax credit to all veterans, and at what rate we want to phase it in,” Dolan said.
Town Manager Kevin Smith said that the amendment has passed the Senate and is currently in committee in the House. If the House passes it without further amendment, it should be on the governor’s desk sometime in May, he said.
One local veteran, Deanna Mele, spoke to the credit, saying she served during peacetime but would be eligible if the town adopted the new guidelines. She urged the town to get an inventory of how many more veterans would qualify. She suggested having people fill out a short questionnaire when they are paying their property taxes.
But, Mele said, it depends on how much the town is willing to offer. “If it’s only $50, you might as well not do it,” she said, because it would be canceled out by the rise in her property taxes.