As a share of total state and local tax revenues, sales tax collections in New Hampshire came in at 0 percent, representing a tie for the lowest percentage among the 50 states, according to a new Tax Foundation analysis.
The bill calls for adopting the same enormous goals of home weatherization, but the tax to pay for achieving them has vanished from sight. Instead, the bill asks for $35 million dollars of the money floating around the State House from federal deficit spending.
Vermont’s fiscal stability and future economic health depend on reducing government spending, not fashioning ever more areas to siphon off wealth in the name of “helping” us.
A proposal filed by Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, would eliminate state taxes on the federal Paycheck Protection Program for more than 24,000 businesses that received the disaster loans.
I took the liberty of seeing what impact the change in the sales tax base would have on my household. There would be a $450 net annual increase if the base were to include haircuts, home heating fuel, lawn and snow services, plumbing and electrical repairs, and even my favorite apple pie.
After the push for the carbon tax fizzled out in 2018, the climate change game turned to enacting a carbon tax by disguising it as something else. The latest version is called “the Thermal Energy Efficiency Charge,” and Sen. Chris Bray has become its most ardent promoter.
As a result of these arbitrary exclusions, we can confidently state that household income as a measurement of ability to pay is a joke. It is clearly not.
The Tax Structure Commission was evidently charged with the task of justifying tax increases in the name of “equity.” But as with all these newfangled ideological schemes, there is no concept of economic limitations — let alone equity.
We don’t require deposit fees for cardboard boxes, newspapers, and other recyclable materials, yet we, as good citizens, still manage to, for the most part, dispose of these things properly. Why should we treat beverage containers differently?
The bill would double the cost of a standard bottle deposit from 5 cents to 10 cents. The added up-front cost for a 24 case of beer or soda would increase from $1.25 to $2.50. A $3.98 40-pack of 16 oz. bottled water at Walmart would require a newly added $4 deposit fee.
Last month the three-member Vermont Tax Structure Commission delivered a well-written, informative and conscientious report. The Legislature will now need to come to grips with some very large taxation change proposals. The longest part of the report deals with our complex property tax financing of education.
New Hampshire lawmakers are considering a bill that would refund any fines assessed to businesses for violating mask orders imposed amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Roughly $10,000 in fines have been issued to businesses for not following the mandate.