Editor's note: This is the fourth in a series of articles chronicling the campaigns of New Hampshire politicians running in the 2002 elections.
New Hampshire's tax system, Mark Fernald says, has forced his retired grandmother to pay more taxes than are required of a multimillionaire.
The Democratic candidate in Nov. 5's gubernatorial race, Fernald focused on this disparity -- a part of the contentious state tax issue -- at a sparsely-attended Young Democrats' meeting Thursday in Silsby Hall.
Fernald's plan to relieve a growing statewide deficit calls for the creation of a 4 percent across-the-board income tax. All dividends raised from the tax would be diverted to public education purposes, he said.
His proposed income tax would be coupled with the elimination of New Hampshire's highly controversial property tax, which ranks among the highest in the nation. Dividing the state into "donor" and "receiver" towns, current legislation stipulates that residents of wealthy districts -- including Hanover -- must pay higher property taxes to fund schools in poorer areas.
Because of this infrastructure, the current state senator said, senior citizens and poor Granite Staters are unable to pay for basic needs such as food and prescription drugs.
"Two-hundred years ago, we didn't throw people in the ditch, but now we do," Fernald said. "Our failure to tax properly has come back to haunt us."
But despite his campaign's emphasis on significant tax breaks that middle-class constituents would receive, Fernald has found his support lagging. A poll released Wednesday by WMUR-TV placed him 16 points behind his opponent, Republican businessman Craig Benson.
Fernald said, however, that survey data compiled by Bannan Communications Research in late September suggests that the two candidates are in a dead heat.
Comparing wealthy individuals who relocate to the state to avoid paying income taxes with large corporations that are attracted to offshore tax havens, Fernald said that his proposed income tax will provide much-needed equity to the current system's victims -- average, hardworking families throughout New Hampshire.
"Millionaires aren't paying their fair share of taxes," Fernald said.
Benson, the co-founder of media giant Cabletron, is included in this group, Fernald added. The Republican front-runner supports property tax reform but opposes the implementation of a statewide income tax.
Fernald also criticized Benson's "empty" campaign during Thursday's event.
"We need leaders who can talk straight," he said. "To win an election, you need money, motivation and message."
Fernald ran for New Hampshire governor in 2000 but was defeated by current Gov. Jeanne Shaheen (D) in the primaries.
