CONCORD – Today House Republican Leader Gene Chandler (R-Bartlett) and House Republican Policy Leader Rep. Laurie Sanborn (R-Bedford) offered the following statements relative to the public hearing on HB 168, a bill that would increase the beer tax by 33%.
House Republican Leader Gene Chandler
“This bill would raise New Hampshire’s beer tax from 2nd highest in New England to 13th highest in the nation. This bill would also unduly burden New Hampshire’s economy by extracting $4.3 million from it at a time when our State is still struggling to retain its economic footing. “
“This bill is also a hit to New Hampshire’s largest and smallest breweries. From Moat Mountain, Smuttynose and Tuckerman’s to the numerous burgeoning microbreweries across the state, all of these New Hampshire businesses will be negatively affected. These companies currently employ hundreds of people and the last thing they need is additional taxes and regulations on their products while having to undoubtedly downshift additional costs to the consumer.”
House Republican Policy Leader Laurie Sanborn
“It is important that we stand firm in opposing this tax, or any other tax or fee that is increased on the backs of our businesses and citizens. With our economy so fragile and people taking home less in their paychecks, now is certainly not the time for state government to be taking more of their hard earned income. “
“Our goal should be working to improve the business climate of our state and help to encourage new and emerging businesses such as the microbrewery industry. A 33% increase of the beer tax doesn’t help to achieve this goal, and is bad for businesses and consumers.”