CONCORD – A group of over 130 House Republicans sent a letter to House Speaker Steve Shurtleff today asking him to support and help expedite legislation that would prevent business taxes from increasing by as much as 12.5%.
House Republican Leader Dick Hinch (R-Merrimack) will present the proposal to the House Rules Committee on Wednesday, and ask for the committee to allow the legislation to be drafted and acted on by the legislature prior to the conclusion of the current legislative session.
“This proposed legislation is a Republican response to the COVID crisis. We worked with our members of the House Ways and Means Committee to come up with a reasonable way to help protect our job creators at this very critical time,” Hinch said. “The last thing we should be doing is kicking our small businesses when they are down. This legislation provides certainty to our business community that our economic recovery will not be hampered by increased taxes.”
Hinch continued, “There is an urgent and compelling need for the legislature to take positive steps to aid our small businesses. This is a necessary first step. When the trigger mechanism in current law was adopted, the legislature could not have foreseen the economic catastrophe caused by a pandemic. This is not an issue we can kick down the road to next year. We need to act now.”
“I hope Speaker Shurtleff and House Democrats do not block this legislation. This needs to be a bipartisan effort. Our businesses cannot afford a 12.5% tax increase. Every small business owner or employee in New Hampshire should call or email their Democrat legislators and urge them to support this concept.” Hinch said.
The letter was emailed to Speaker Shurtleff on Friday. The proposed legislation is included in the letter.
The House Republican Office will continue to collect signatures from House members in support of the legislation.