New Saugus tax rate benefits residents

SAUGUS – With every article at Special Town Meeting heard, the Board of Assessors were able to set the town tax rate at a public hearing before the Board of Selectmen Tuesday.The residential tax rate was set at $11.61 and the commercial, industrial and personal property tax rate at $25.62 per thousand valuation. Last year?s rate were $11.28 for residential and $24.90 for commercial.The board shifted the tax burden from the residential to the commercial properties and calculated the lowest possible residential factor to tax commercial properties at the maximum share of the tax levy.The shift resulted in the average single family tax bill decreasing from $3,671.64 in 2013 to $3,577.39 in 2013.Selectman Debra Panetta commented that the town was lucky that it had such a strong business atmosphere so they could afford the shift to help residents.{{tncms-asset app=”editorial” id=”2f9b1032-5266-11e3-b9e1-0019bb2963f4″}}