Testimony on CACR 6 and Supermajority Requirements for Tax Increases

NHFPI Executive Director Jeff McLynch testified on May 11 before the Senate Internal Affairs Committee on a proposal to amend the state’s constitution to require a three-fifths supermajority vote of in the House and Senate to pass any tax or fee increase.

“In brief, CACR 6 would undermine sound fiscal policy. It would unduly constrain the flexibility New Hampshire needs to respond to changing economic circumstances and would likely lead to a great reliance upon temporary solutions to future budget shortfalls, more frequent legislative stalemates and higher borrowing costs,” he said.

Business Taxes in New Hampshire: Where Do They Stand? How Much Do They Matter?

Some of the current proposals to reduce business taxes ignore facts about N.H.’s tax structure and, more generally, about the impact taxes have on economic activity. Here’s an overview to help put things in perspective.

House Ways & Means Revenue Estimates Show Virtually No Growth For FY 2012-2013

The House Way and Means Committee predicts that total General and Education Fund revenue will grow very little, if at all, over the next 30 months. As a result, the Committee’s estimates serve to underscore the role that declining revenues have played in creating New Hampshire’s fiscal difficulties. If the Committee’s estimates come to pass, total General and Education Fund revenue in FY 2013 will reach its lowest level, in inflation-adjusted dollars, since the advent of the Education Fund more than a decade ago.