Democrats Plotting An Income Tax for New Hampshire?

Democrats Plotting An Income Tax in New Hampshire?

By Jim on August 27th, 2009

Ran into this blog entry this morning:

The income tax in the bill would be at a 5 percent rate with exemptions of $15,000 per filer and $10,000 per child. The income tax portion of the bill would generate approx. $800,000,000. The statewide property tax would be raised to $5.50 per thousand (with a $200,000 homestead exemption) raising another $700 million according to DRA. Since much of the Business Enterprise Tax is geared toward income and since the interest and dividends tax is considered a tax on income, those two taxes would be repealed.

The Business Profits Tax is lowered by one percent, down to seven and a half percent, although Rep. Johnson contended that might not be possible. In other words, we might need to keep even more monies, according to Johnson who was the lone Democrat to win (barely) in a highly Republican district in 2008 and who will certainly be targeted by the state GOP come 2010. Rightly so.

Chairman Almy plans to ask a UNH economist to inform the panel in early September about the business ramifications of this income tax bill.

A full vote by the subcommittee (presumably against it) is expected in late October. Even though it won’t pass, Commissioner Clougherty is expected to use dozens of man hours to get answers to committee questions, this at a time when DRA doesn’t seem to have the time to get numbers for the revenue plan in place!

Although it seems unlikely to pass, it’s still disturbing that these Democrats are even considering this at all. I cannot imagine, in this kind of economy, what an income tax in New Hampshire would do to our state. People are having a hard enough time making ends meet and now the Democrats in state government want even more money?

Look for a Republican sweep in 2010 if this gets anywhere.