At an Americans for Prosperity-New Hampshire event in Portsmouth billed as the “New England Tax Showdown,” presenters argued that New Hampshire’s lack of an income tax draws dollars and residents from higher-tax Maine and Massachusetts, NH Journal reports.
According to NH Journal, the data presented made for a lopsided comparison.
But if the data presented is any indication, it was less a showdown and more of a smackdown, as the Granite State bested the competition in virtually every category.
NH Journal
On income taxes, the contrast with neighboring states was stark.
On income taxes, Massachusetts charges 5 percent, plus an additional 4 percent on income of $1 million or more. Maine has multiple income tax rates, ranging from 5.8 percent to 7.15 percent.
NH Journal
House Majority Leader Jason Osborne repeatedly underscored New Hampshire’s rate, NH Journal reports.
New Hampshire’s rate, as House Majority Leader Rep. Jason Osborne was happy to repeatedly note, is zero.
NH Journal
Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform said the broader trend favors the New Hampshire approach.
“In the last four years, we’ve had seven states move to a single-rate tax, and that’s the trend,” Norquist said.
NH Journal
He predicted single-rate taxes would soon be the norm, NH Journal notes.
“This will put us soon into a majority of states that have a single-rate tax,” Norquist said, adding, “Zero being my favorite single-rate tax.”
NH Journal
The Portsmouth event framed New Hampshire’s tax structure as a competitive advantage over its New England neighbors, with presenters arguing that lower rates pull both dollars and residents across the border, NH Journal reports. Beyond income taxes, they pointed to differences in levies on consumer goods such as tobacco, beer, and gasoline.
The presenters argued that the combined effect of these tax differences has been to steer revenue and residents away from Maine and Massachusetts and toward New Hampshire, NH Journal reports. Norquist added that a growing share of states are expected to adopt single-rate taxes in the coming years, a shift he portrayed as following New Hampshire’s example.
The Portsmouth event was structured as a side-by-side comparison of New Hampshire and its higher-tax neighbors, and presenters argued the data favored the Granite State in nearly every category, NH Journal reports. The contrast on income taxes was the centerpiece, with Massachusetts and Maine both imposing rates while New Hampshire’s is zero.
Beyond income taxes, presenters pointed to differences in levies on consumer goods such as tobacco, beer, and gasoline, according to NH Journal. Grover Norquist argued the broader national trend is moving toward single-rate and zero income taxes, citing seven states that have adopted single-rate taxes in the last four years and others expected to follow.
The event reinforced a central theme of New Hampshire’s tax debate, casting the absence of an income tax as a draw for residents and businesses from across the region, NH Journal reports. Presenters argued the gap between New Hampshire and its neighbors continues to send both people and revenue across the border into the Granite State.
Read the full story at NH Journal.
