Update: HB 1611 was heard by the House Ways and Means Committee who determined that this bill was ITL 17-2.
by Steve MacDonald
Coming to a committee hearing near you, HB 1611 (click for full text) would create a new chapter in New Hampshire called 77-F:1 which would create a 2.5% retail sales tax. The opening analysis goes like this.
“This bill imposes a 2.25 percent retail sales tax. The bill also imposes a 2.25 percent use tax on the use or storage of property in New Hampshire when no sales tax has been paid. Use tax is imposed, for example, when a New Hampshire business buys property out of state tax-free and uses it in New Hampshire. It also applies when a business makes personal use of property that it has purchased for resale or has manufactured for sale.
Sales for resale, sales for delivery outside New Hampshire, casual sales, and sales of specific items such as gasoline, heating oil, food, medical supplies, and items of clothing under $175 are all exempt from taxation.”
The bill is sixteen pages long but very interesting reading. The “Use tax” language adds an exciting dimension, one that will cost the economy more than the state would probably make. But that is to be expected. Policies that free up business actually increase tax revenue, so the obvious tack for tax and spenders has to be the exact opposite.
So again we see policy–spending to create a need for taxes–is more about control than cash. If they wanted more cash, they’d do more to attract business and employment instead of less. They are committed to doing exactly the opposite at every opportunity.
Bill Sponsor: Rep. Gillman Shattuck, Hills 1
Let him know what you think.
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