What's a pretty view worth? A tax hit.

David Bischoff lights a gas lantern in his tiny cabin and gazes out the window. Two forested peaks rise beyond a snow-strewn field of hay. It's a view that's costing him dearly.

To keep homeowners informed, property tax assessors in New Hampshire have begun to spell out how much a noteworthy view factors into their appraisals. In Mr. Bischoff's case, his cabin, outhouse, and land were valued at $43,000 – but the mountain vista added $200,000 on top of that. That translated into an annual tax bill topping $4,000 on a rustic getaway he rarely visits.

"I could go to the Mount Washington Hotel for a month and pay less than the tax on this," says Bischoff. He points to more spectacular views across town that were assessed for far less. "My biggest complaint is the inconsistencies."

Oddities abound: farmers paying thousands on uninhabited barns, lakefront homeowners charged for each window facing water, and a blind man taxed on a $45,000 view he can't see.

The controversy taps common frustration with property taxes that shoot up unpredictably after opaque reassessments. Rather than accept their home values as mysteries akin to the pricing of gasoline or fashionable purses, New Hampshire residents pushed for more detailed explanations. What they got has triggered petitions, town hall meetings, and reform bills headed for debate in the coming weeks.

"All of the sudden people are looking at how [assessors] got the math, and that's not making them happy," says Arnie Arnesen, a former Democratic gubernatorial candidate in New Hampshire. The solution, however, isn't as simple as subtracting the view from assessments, she warns. "All you are doing by saying you are not going to tax the view is [shifting taxes to] everyone without a view."

Assessors say the value of a view can be determined by comparing recent sales of homes in the area. The process does involve some subjectivity, but assessments are based on documented data gathered on comparable properties, says John McSorley, assistant director of the state's Department of Revenue Administration.

"You are mirroring the market. The market is not an objective thing, it's the interaction between buyers and sellers ... and they are anything but consistent," says Tom Holmes, a longtime assessor in Conway, N.H. "Individual sales are not consistent, but over the course of many sales you can derive a statistical value." The state requires that assessors be able to show how they arrive at their conclusions, Mr. McSorley says.

Granite Staters, in particular, scrutinize assessments because their property taxes are high in the absence of income tax or sales tax. "After a while you find every flaw in that tax if you over rely on it," says Ms. Arnesen.

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