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How Avon's depreciation schedule change will alter individual tax bills
Summary
Staff presented multiple taxpayer examples showing that the modified depreciation schedule lowers some real-estate taxes while raising motor-vehicle bills for many taxpayers; total effect varies by vehicle age, MSRP and household composition.
Town finance staff presented illustrative taxpayer examples to show how increasing the depreciation schedule by 5 points would shift tax liability between real estate and motor-vehicle accounts.
Tom DiStasio described sample cases from the presentation demonstrating mixed results: "This taxpayer's Real Estate bill went down by $53, but their Motor Vehicle bills went up by $124, leading to an overall $71 increase," and other examples showed net decreases for some households depending on vehicle age and MSRP. He also explained that a two-year-old vehicle taxed at 80% of MSRP under the prior schedule would go to 85% under one modification example.
The slides and staff commentary show the change will not reduce the overall tax levy; it will change the Net Grand List and thus lower the mill rate while raising some motor-vehicle bills and lowering some real-estate bills. Councilmembers asked for further numeric breakdowns comparing 85% and 90% schedules before finalizing policy in future years.
