For Immediate Release:
March 30, 2021
Contact: Paul Dame 802-318-7544
The Vermont Tax Structure Commission recommended to the legislature that it should expand Vermont’s 6% sales and use tax, which is currently limited to non-essential goods and a handful of services, to cover all goods and services except healthcare, and to lower the overall rate to 3.6%.
Essential goods that would now be subject to the new 3.6% tax include food, clothing, and home energy. Over two hundred services would be subject to the new tax, and would include childcare, college and other tuition, legal aid, carpentry, plumbing, hair and beauty services, home maintenance, etc. The Commission’s recommendation is not a revenue neutral one but calls for a $20 million net revenue increase, above and beyond added costs for bureaucracy and new or expanded income redistribution programs.
In addition to making Vermont a less affordable place to live for us all, the new logistical burden that would be placed on service businesses, many of which are small and struggling, to collect, account for, and remit the taxes would be an especially cruel blow as they try to recover from the economic devastation caused by Covid. Not to mention putting them at a severe competitive disadvantage with rivals across the Connecticut River in New Hampshire and the other forty-six states that don’t cast nearly as broad a sales tax net.
The Vermont Republican Party calls on all legislators of all parties to formally and loudly reject this proposal. At our most recent State Committee Meeting a resolution opposing this new tax was passed unanimously, the text which is included below.
Resolution
The Vermont Republican Party Opposes the Proposed Expansion of VT Sales Tax to Essential Goods and Services
Whereas, the Vermont Tax Structure Commission recommended to the legislature that it should expand Vermont’s 6% sales and use tax, which is currently limited to non-essential goods and a handful of services, to cover all goods and services with no exceptions but for healthcare, and to lower the overall rate to 3.6%; and
Whereas, essential goods that would be newly subject to this 3.6% tax rate include groceries, clothing, and home energy; and
Whereas, over two hundred services would be newly subject to this 3.6% tax rate, including childcare, college and other tuition, legal aid, carpentry, plumbing, home maintenance, etc., making Vermont a less affordable place to live; and
Whereas, sales taxes are understood to be regressive in nature; and
Whereas, the Vermont Senate just voted to exempt feminine hygiene products from the sales tax, and this proposal would reverse that measure; and
Whereas, New Hampshire has no sales tax on any goods or services, and New York and Massachusetts have no sales tax on essential goods and most services, this proposal would put many Vermont businesses at a competitive disadvantage along the borders all of our neighboring states; and
Whereas, in addition to the higher cost to customers, the new logistical burden that would be placed on service businesses, many of which are small and struggling, to collect, account for, and remit the taxes would be an especially cruel blow as they try to recover from the economic downturn caused by Covid; and
Whereas, the Commission’s recommendation is not a revenue neutral one but calls for an overall revenue increase in excess of $20 million; and
Whereas, given Vermont’s history with sales tax rates, we have little confidence lowering the rate from 6% to 3.6% will remain at that lower level for long.
Whereas, the Commission’s recommendation to alleviate this new sales tax burden on low income Vermonters by expanding the welfare state and the bureaucracies that run them is repugnant, will increase dependency, and exacerbate problems with the “benefits cliff”; therefore be it
Resolved, that the Vermont Republican Party requests that all elected Representatives and Senators of all parties and the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Treasurer to formally reject this proposal.
Many thanks VTGOP for this report and statement – keep em coming – we need to hear regular reports and statements from party leadership – don’t be a stranger Deb – miss ya 😀
A counter could be:
We want to raise $40 million in taxes on Porn.
With that we do the $20million you request
And
We put $20 million toward state pensions.
With a counter like this you can block their efforts to bring about a VAT tax in a very sneaky underhanded way. If they say no, you have exposed them for who they truly are.
Teachers, church minded people, state employees, businesses, women…..he this is a good idea.
All of sudden we’d be playing ball. We’d have a man on base and we’d have stopped the VAT tax while we build our baseball team of 17 members…..small victories over taking a righteous state where we become cannon fodder, yet again.
A $20 million tax on porn would a better solution. Would protect women, men and most importantly families.
Notice they will literally tax everything that moves EXCEPT their golden trophies……
Medical field and pornography. That because they want both to expand, unfettered.
All tax is not bad, if we take that stance they will eat our lunch and give us the Precurser to the VAT tax!
Are we working for the NWO? Are we assisting them in their aims? I think VERMONTERS would much rather have a porn tax than what is proposed. This is an evil bait and switch that sets us up for way more taxes!
We are once again getting completely played! It’s almost like we are the perfect foil.
We are falling perfectly in line for these NWO pimps to take our lunch again. They know the standard reply from republicans is going to be NO NEW TAXES, and because of that they will win again…..we are being played again.
We have to be more clever than the snakes we are dealing with and more innocent than doves.
Because we don’t come up with a better idea, we will essentially be helping them install this VAT tax….way to go!
How did our Republicans Vote????
They are raising taxes by $20 million this year. This is the start of the VAT the Europe is saddled with.
So they are basically raising everyone’s taxes, say 50% of the population by $66.
They of course sell it by saying we are lowering one tax and raising it everywhere else! And they still won’t have enough……they will never have enough.
The are setting themselves up to then raise our sales tax a couple of years from now another percent, and they’ll say oh, we’re still only at 4.6%….ITS A SCAM. MONTPELIER CANT DO ANYTHING BUT SCAM THE CITIZENS.