Recommends New
GOP Tax Plan

Welcome to the Vermont Local Education Affordability Formula (LEAF).

Most Vermonters agree that our current school tax system is "broken" and needs either to be overhauled or replaced.

A new education funding proposal, Vermont Local Education Affordability Formula (LEAF), would take care of many problems in the current system.

The highlights of LEAF are as follows:

• Eliminates statewide property tax for residential properties;

• Eliminates Common Level of Appraisal (CLA) for homesteads;

• Restores local control of school funding;

• Eliminates excess spending penalties;

• Eliminates the rural acreage penalty by eliminating the two-acre limitation;

• All special education to be paid from the state education fund;

• Reduces complexity of current education funding plan (Act 60/68)

• Increases transparency of school funding mechanism;

• Directly ties local education spending decisions to local tax liability.

You can read more about this plan on the LEAF website at: www.vermontleaf.com/

On this website you can even find out what your estimated tax would be under this plan. After reviewing the information, they recommend that you tell them whether or not you like the plan by clicking on a link. Even if you don't have access to a computer, I recommend you contact someone who does and ask them to look up what your estimated taxes would be.

If you agree and think we need to do something about school taxes NOW, please contact your legislators and tell them to sign on to this plan.

Heidi Nikolaidis

Bethel