Property Tax Voting Requirement (H 7657)

We urged an amendment to a bill that would differentiate for tax purposes between short-term rental properties depending on whether the property is the owner’s primary residence.

Our concern with the bill as presently written is that in order to qualify as residential rather than commercial property, the property owner must not only live there for at least seven months of the year, but also must be registered to vote. We believe this latter requirement is inappropriate and should be eliminated.

There are many reasons why a person, for reasons of political or religious conscience, might not want to register to vote. Registering to vote, like voting itself, is a political statement, just as the decision not to register or vote can be.