CONCORD – House Majority Leader Pete Silva (R-Nashua) and House Ways and Means Chairman Stephen Stepanek (R-Amherst) today released the following statement regarding the National Conference of State Legislatures’ (NCSL) support of the Marketplace Fairness Act. NCSL has cited the legislation as one of its “top priorities.” New Hampshire House Democratic Leader Terie Norelli is sworn in as the new President of NCSL this week.
House Majority Leader Pete Silva
“Republicans have been working hard over the past two years to make New Hampshire as competitive as possible. Democrats, on the other hand, want to undermine the New Hampshire Advantage. This year we eliminated the internet tax in New Hampshire and now Rep. Norelli, in her capacity as President of NCSL, wants to destroy New Hampshire’s right not to have a sales tax. Norelli and the Democrats continue down the same road of taxing our citizens and growing government even though we saw the ill effects of what four years of making New Hampshire less competitive does to our employers and our job market. The 25% spending increase over the Democrats reign, fueled by over 100 tax and fee increases, was destroying the low tax, limited government environment. This positive environment built by Republicans, including no sales tax, is what makes our state special and differentiates us from the rest of the states around us and we need to make sure the so-called Marketplace Fairness Act that Norelli is pushing does not impede upon that advantage.”
House Ways and Means Chairman Stephen Stepanek
“We need to be working with our employers to give them confidence and means to invest, grow and hire. That means making, and keeping, New Hampshire a competitive place in which to do business. Forcing our businesses that sell online to collect a sales tax does exactly the opposite and we need to fight this disastrous legislation and those who seek to impose it in order to protect the New Hampshire Advantage. Our businesses need an advocate in government, not an enemy.”