How to make NH’s business tax rate lowest in the nation

To the editor:

Do we really want to cut business taxes, or do we just want to play at it?

The current rate for the business profits tax is 8.2 percent. It is scheduled to go to 7.9 percent at the start of 2018. There is currently a bill proposed that would lower it to 7.5 percent in July 2021.

What would that accomplish? Not much.

At 8.2 percent, our corporate tax rate is higher than 39 other states. At 7.9 percent, it will still be higher than 37. At 7.5 percent, higher than 35.

The purpose for cutting business taxes is to attract businesses to New Hampshire, which these cuts will not accomplish.

To attract businesses to New Hampshire, we need to be among the lowest 10 states — better still, the lowest five.

House Bill 415, the NH Tax Shift Plan, does just that. It lowers the rate of the BPT down to 4 percent. It also repeals the business enterprise tax, the statewide property tax, utility property tax and the interest and dividends tax.

If HB 415 becomes law, New Hampshire will be tied with North Carolina for the lowest corporate tax rate in the country.

That would accomplish something. That would get the attention of a business looking to move to another state, or an entrepreneur looking for a state to locate a new business.

HB 415 makes these tax cuts in a responsible way. It replaces all the revenue lost with revenue from a 3.95 percent income tax. That income tax would be lower than all other New England states.

So do we want to cut business taxes, or do we just want to play at it?

To learn more about the NH Tax Shift Plan, visit go to nhtaxshift.com.

Rep. Paul Henle

Concord