August 6, 2009
Union Leader
More than $300 million in tax and fee hikes isn’t ‘major’?
On Sunday, New Hampshire Democratic Party spokesman Victoria Bonney was quoted in this newspaper as saying the current $110 million hole in the state budget will be an issue voters won’t care about by next year’s elections. “This will not be an issue in 2010. By then, people will be saying that in the worst recession in decades Gov. Lynch and Democrats in the Legislature were able to craft a responsible budget with no major tax increases,” she said.
How can anyone say there were no “major tax increases” this year? Is it because the Legislature didn’t pass one large tax, but instead taxed citizens on most every aspect of daily life? From increased fees on car registrations to a new camping tax to a 5 percent increase on small business taxes, the list goes on and on.
Jennifer Coffey is a Republican state representative from Andover.