Property taxes are something anyone can pick on. And columns in your paper like “Charles Lawton: Property-tax system a drag on regional recruitment” (Oct 14.) routinely latch on to the notion that lower property taxes will gain industrial enterprises or businesses in a given locale.

Some business owners play communities against each other to get ridiculously generous “deals” to locate in them.

Often these “deals” turn out to be horror stories as the industries collapse and leave towns holding the debts, polluted grounds, etc., when they leave.

The “deals” are no bargain, and towns should not be suckered into them.

For 15 years, I served on a Municipal Planning Board in Sudbury, Mass., which is located between Route 128 and Interstate 495.

We assessed businesses 33 percent more than residences and businesses and industries were knocking the doors down to locate in our town.

The extra 33 percent tax was rarely mentioned.

There were three main reasons for commercial entities wishing to locate with us:

• The quality of the public schools,

• The quality of area life and the housing.

• The proximity to MIT, Harvard, Northeastern, Worcester Polytech and other lesser-known institutions of higher learning.

The sooner Maine learns these lessons, the sooner we will get out of the backwaters of progressive, clean comercial enterprise.

Dick Brooks is a resident of  Phillips.