Nantucket Nonresident Panel Prepares Position on Possible Tax Exemption Hike

NANTUCKET -- May 2, 2026, Nantucket's Advisory Committee of Non-Voting Taxpayers signaled it will seek speakers and prepare a public position ahead of a Select Board decision expected this fall on whether to raise the town's residential tax exemption from roughly 20 percent to as much as 25 percent. Chair Peter Halley explained at the Saturday virtual meeting that year-round residents currently pay property tax on about 80 percent of assessed value while nonresident owners, who hold the large majority of island properties, pay on the full 100 percent, and that the state recently raised the statutory cap on the exemption, giving the Select Board a wider range to act. The committee noted the departure of Finance Director Brian Turbitt, who had previously briefed members on the exemption mechanics, as a complication in lining up speakers. On the Our Island Home skilled-nursing facility, the committee agreed it would not speak at town meeting on Article 11, having already published letters in the Nantucket Current and the Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror pointing to a Martha's Vineyard financing model as a less costly alternative; Halley noted that the facility's 45 federally subsidized beds are legally open to any Massachusetts resident, not only islanders. The committee also mourned the death of former chair Gary Beller and began seeking a replacement for his seat on the town's coastal resilience committee.