by Honorable Karen Umberger
This past week in the House the Democrats were busy passing bills to raise taxes and fees.
HB 623 was passed to halt further reduction of the Business Enterprise Tax and Business Profits tax. This action will hurt small businesses. It basically leaves the BPT/BET at the 2018 levels and eliminates future reductions. The Business and Industry Association was very much opposed to this action. The Democrats think it only affects big business, but it hurts every business that pays BPT/BET.
HB 686 adds capital gains to the interest and dividends tax. This was justified because the money will go towards schools.
HB 682 passed to increase the fees the Department of Environmental Services can charge for all of their permits. This not only affects individuals, but also the Department of Transportation. The one good thing they did was ITL a bill to force homeowners to remove wood stoves installed before 1986 when they sell their homes. Lots of other wood stoves were also affected.
If you want to see how your local Representatives voted go to the NH Legislature website. On the left hand side, scroll down to Voting Records. You can then click on 2019 and the names of the legislators will pop up.