More taxes are on the way! And by voting against them, legislators may be voting against the LLC tax repeal as well.
The Finance Committee passed SB 450, which contains tax cuts, fee increases and a plethora of new taxes, by a one vote margin of 13–12.
The bill will place fiscal conservatives in a tough spot because they will likelly want to vote against tax and fee increases, but by doing so will be voting against the LLC Tax repeal. Yes, that onerous tax is repealed in this ombudsman bill.
Increases:
– Tobacco products other than cigarettes
– A new electricity generation tax that will increase all of our electric bills.
– Estate taxes have been passed — move out of state if you have a large insurance policy coupled with investments or your heirs will see the state drain your coffers.
– Pet shops will pay a higher license fee
– Want to get married? Expect to pay five bucks more for that wedding license.
– Vital records fees will increase
– AG increased the market bulletin subscription
Downshifted to towns:
– Catastrophic Aid, a reimbursement program for SPED costs, has seen the reimbursement rate reduced from 82 percent to 79 percent. An amendment was written by Rep. Lynne Ober that would allow school districts to hold a special meeting in 2011 without going to court ONLY if they needed to cover the gap in Catastrophic Aid reimbursement (remember those budgets are already set).
– School nutrition programs saw a small decrease
– Rooms and Meals Tax distribution was further reduced
Governor’s “Ponzi” Schemes:
– UNH will give the general fund $25 million. The Governor will, in turn, bond $25 million and start paying UNH back plus interest. Who said folks at universities didn’t have business sense?
– The Governor cannot cover bond payment this year so there are plans to “re-structure” $51 million dollars. That way we only have to pay $2 million this year and stretch the rest out for another decade with new bonds — mortgaging the future and costing the state $9 million or so in increased interest payments.
The Democrats may have the votes to:
– Refuse to cut the Judicial budget as the Governor requested.
– Add back $10 million to HHS
– Add back a position and fees for a position that was elminated last October to do lead paint inspections.
The Finance Committee Republicans will be working to eliminate all tax increases and to divide the question so that the LLC Tax Repeal could be voted on separately.