O P I N I O N

THE SOAPBOX

Stand up. Speak up. It’s your turn.

I know that things are going to get twisted so I want to set the record straight.

I did not vote for an income tax.

I voted for a question to be put on the November ballot for New Hampshire residents to vote on whether or not they want an income tax and IF one is ever put in place, that the proceeds from that tax go SOLELY to education and property tax relief.

It’s time for us all to have an adult discussion about revenue in New Hampshire. And it’s time for some of us to show political courage and bring up some difficult topics.

If we continue at the same pace we are at, right now, the state will run out of money and our property taxes will only increase. That is a given. We are here because of years and years of fiscal mismanagement from extremists in Concord who have long ruled under the belief that all taxation is theft.

Which is fine if you don’t want your state to provide any services like tourism promotion, the arts, libraries, help with medicaid, fixing roads and bridges, housing support, fully funding public education, and the list goes on and on and on.

So how do we fix this?

No, believe it or not, the answer is not a sales tax or an income tax.

The answer is to restore the taxes that were cut by the extremists (and which no one asked for in the first place). We need people to pay their fair share of taxes, not get out of paying taxes because they have the good fortune to be wealthy. We need to restore (not create new levels) but restore them to what they were:

Business Enterprise Tax
Business Profit Tax
Interest and Dividends (with a floor)
Rooms and Meals
Car Inspection (we lost a lot of federal money with that one)
School Voucher program (EFA)
We can also look at:
Increased tolls for out-of-staters
Adult use cannabis sale
Homestead tax

We restore those taxes, let the dust settle, and then see where we are.

If we don’t restore some taxes, if we don’t create some new revenue, then we literally won’t have enough money to run our state and if we don’t have the money, then who do you think gets to pick up the slack?

That’s right – us – the property owners.

We need to raise revenue in New Hampshire and it just can’t all be on the backs of property owners.

I am not saying we need an income tax. In fact, if we level the tax playing field, I don’t think we will need one. I also don’t think we will need a sales tax. However, what I am saying is that I have heard enough people (including locals) telling me that they need property tax relief that they are willing to have an adult discussion about it. Having a vote on this on the November ballot would be that discussion.

If the answer is no, then it’s no and we look somewhere else for revenue.

If the answer is yes. Then we do EVERYTHING we possibly can do elsewhere BEFORE we even think about implementing an income tax. It wouldn’t be a done deal, it would just be a tool in our arsenal that we could use if needed.

Get rid of the extremists in Concord and we won’t ever need it.

So no, I did not vote for an income tax. I voted for an amendment which would allow our New Hampshire voters to tell us, once and for all, if they want or do not want an income tax.