NH tries to institute 5% income tax

[Steve Smith/New Hampshire State Coordinator]

People of NH, in response to the current economic crisis, your state government has decided to give you a 5% cut in pay, effective July of this year. Have a nice summer.

NH is currently considering HB 583-FN-A-LOCAL, which establishes a 5% income tax to fund education and also strips local control of teachers by making them all state employees.

If those two facts alone are not enough reason to vote against this bill, let's consider what the bill does not address.

1 - How many additional employees will the state hire to administer
this? Since they claim that all the money is for education, how will
these new employees be paid?
2 - How much will the forms costs?
3 - Will there be an efile option? Who will administer that? How
much will that cost?
4 - How much will it cost to send refunds to taxpayers after they file
their returns?
5 - Considering the rural nature of the state, and the lack of any
central news service, and the draconian seizure/enforcement methods
included in this bill... how will our state government ensure that
each and every NH resident is educated about this new program after it
is passed, and before it is implemented? Do they find out when their
paycheck is 95% of what it used to be?
6 - Before the state seizes control of the teachers (makes them state
employees) from our towns, should the towns be asked how they feel
about that? Do we now in a live in a state where your town government
is irrelevant?
7 - Will there be any negative impact on hiring? I'm assuming the
business will be forced to eat the overhead associated with this new
bureaucracy. Do businesses think that their current staff can handle
it, or will they need more HR staff, and consequently less production
staff?
8 - A provision was included that you could not get a state license or
registration if you were not current in your tax payments. Taxpayers
are also required to report changes in income within 6 months of the
event, and retain their tax records for 3 years, to be produced upon
demand by the tax authority. (You must have your papers) If someone
is non-compliant in this, guilty of losing papers, will they lose
their drivers license?

It's like I died and woke up in.... Massachusetts.

Steve Smith - Charlestown, NH

[MARY JONES]

I imagine there will be alot of people driving without licenses or registrations as they are now doing.