CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon) and House Majority Leader Pete Silva (R-Nashua) today offered the following comments in response to the Governor allowing House Bill 1418 to pass in to law without signature. The legislation includes several tax reductions, including increasing the exemption for the business enterprise tax (BET) by 33% and indexes these exemptions to inflation, expanding the ability to businesses to depreciate business expenses and stopping the application of the communication services tax on Internet access. The bill also provides $3 million to reduce the developmental disability waiting list for services.
House Speaker William O’Brien
“When this leadership team took over after the election of 2010, New Hampshire ranked 50th – dead last in the nation – for having the highest business taxes, according the non-partisan Tax Foundation. In 2011, we passed three pieces of tax relief for our employers, and we moved up to 46th in the rankings. This new law will move us up even further in the rankings and make our state even more competitive when it comes to attracting, retaining and growing new jobs here. With the passage of this law, fully 1/3rd of New Hampshire employers will not have to pay any BET and the compliance costs for both the companies and the Department of Revenue Administration will drop. Likewise, expanding business depreciation will help businesses grow here. Stopping taxation on Internet services will put money into the pockets of New Hampshire citizens at a time when every working family needs help. Finally, providing resources to the developmentally disabled keeps our commitment to help those who cannot help themselves.”
House Majority Leader Pete Silva
“Governor Lynch and the Democrats drove us to having the worst business tax ranking in the country with a seemingly never-ending list of tax and fee hikes. Republicans are leading our way back to restoring the New Hampshire Advantage by providing tax relief for our employers, to get them growing and adding new jobs. We are also easing the burden on our residents by eliminating the tax on the Internet. These are positive steps to ensuring the future of our economy and showing the country the direction towards prosperity.”