Top NH Republican staffer floats state sales tax

New Hampshire Republicans based the vast majority of their 2024 campaign message on dubious claims that Democrats would dramatically raise taxes if elected.

Now, with the election behind them and a budget crunch ahead, NH GOP seems to think new and increased taxes on low and middle income Granite Staters might actually be viable after all.

“Would you support a NH sales tax IF it came with a constitutional amendment to ban income and property taxes?”asked one top NH GOP staffer on social media this week, not just approaching what has historically been considered the third rail of New Hampshire politics, but seemingly dancing on it.

The shift is a logical progression for Republicans, who have increasingly found success with New Hampshire voters by pushing regressive tax models that move the state’s tax burden from the very wealthiest individuals and corporations and downshifting it to property taxpayers.

Republicans backing a sales tax in exchange for banning property and income taxes would further that strategy, and increase low-income Granite Staters’ effective state and local tax burden, which is already the highest in the state, according to the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute.

“Combined state and local taxes in New Hampshire require residents with lower incomes to pay a larger percentage of their income than those with higher incomes. Most New Hampshire individuals and families earning less than $153,900 per year pay a combined state and local tax rate that, on average, is 6 of their incomes or more, which is a higher average effective rate than taxpayers earning above that amount,” wrote Phil Sletten, Research Director at NHFPI in a report on tax rates for low-income Granite Staters.

The seeming hypocrisy inherent in campaigning against tax increases only to then consider them is not a new one in even recent New Hampshire political history. Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais also based his mayoral campaign on being the only candidate to run for mayor who wouldn’t raise taxes.

Now? In Manchester, under the NH GOP mayor, property taxes are going up by 3.8%, the largest property tax increase in more than a decade. 

“I don’t think it can be said enough that Jay Ruais not only completely ignored his promise to provide tax cuts to the citizens of Manchester in the last campaign, he actively lobbied Republican aldermen not to support the tax cap, a tax cut” said former Manchester alderman Republican Rich Gerard.

Local Republican efforts to move tax burdens away from the wealthy and toward lower and middle income residents are informed by the national Republican party’s policies, such as the 2017 Trump tax cuts, under which households with incomes in the top 1% are set to receive an average tax cut of more than $60,000 in 2025.

Top New Hampshire Democratic and progressive strategists like Lucas Meyer, a veteran political and nonprofit leader, said Democrats should be on the lookout to create opportunities to go on the offensive on economic issues heading into a contentious budget fight while Republicans are looking to raise taxes on the most vulnerable.

“When a corporate CEO pays less taxes than a teacher, that means the system is broken. It just isn’t fair. And when the richest people and greedy wealthy businesses use loopholes and tax handouts to avoid paying what they owe, it’s the rest of us who feel the squeeze.”