NH House Republican Leaders Comment on Proposal to Increase Beer Tax

CONCORD – House Republican Leader Gene Chandler (R-Bartlett) and House Republican Policy Leader Rep. Laurie Sanborn (R-Bedford) today offered the following statements on a bill to increase the beer tax. The bill was defeated 308 to 35.

House Republican Leader Gene Chandler

“New Hampshire’s beer tax is already the second highest in New England. This bill would have raised it to among the highest in the nation. We are pleased Republicans were able to kill this bill to help New Hampshire’s breweries like Moat Mountain, Smuttynose and Tuckerman’s, which currently employ hundreds of Granite Staters.”

House Republican Policy Leader Laurie Sanborn

“It is important that we stand firm in opposing this tax, or any other tax or fee that is increased on the backs of our businesses and citizens. With our economy so fragile and people taking home less in their paychecks, now is certainly not the time for state government to be taking more of their hard earned money.”

“Our goal should be working to create legislation that improves the business climate of our state and helps to bolster new and emerging businesses such as the microbrewery industry. A 33% increase of the beer tax doesn’t help to achieve this goal, and is bad for businesses and consumers.” 

House Republican Leaders Comment on HB 168, Bill to Increase the Beer Tax

CONCORD – Today House Republican Leader Gene Chandler (R-Bartlett) and House Republican Policy Leader Rep. Laurie Sanborn (R-Bedford) offered the following statements relative to the public hearing on HB 168, a bill that would increase the beer tax by 33%.

House Republican Leader Gene Chandler

“This bill would raise New Hampshire’s beer tax from 2^nd highest in New England to 13^th highest in the nation. This bill would also unduly burden New Hampshire’s economy by extracting $4.3 million from it at a time when our State is still struggling to retain its economic footing. “

“This bill is also a hit to New Hampshire’s largest and smallest breweries. From Moat Mountain, Smuttynose and Tuckerman’s to the numerous burgeoning microbreweries across the state, all of these New Hampshire businesses will be negatively affected. These companies currently employ hundreds of people and the last thing they need is additional taxes and regulations on their products while having to undoubtedly downshift additional costs to the consumer.”

House Republican Policy Leader Laurie Sanborn

“It is important that we stand firm in opposing this tax, or any other tax or fee that is increased on the backs of our businesses and citizens. With our economy so fragile and people taking home less in their paychecks, now is certainly not the time for state government to be taking more of their hard earned income. “

“Our goal should be working to improve the business climate of our state and help to encourage new and emerging businesses such as the microbrewery industry. A 33% increase of the beer tax doesn’t help to achieve this goal, and is bad for businesses and consumers.”

Josiah Bartlett Center - The Beer Tax, NH Unemployment, and Why Gov. Hassan Needs to Start Cutting Now

Weekly Update from the
Josiah Bartlett Center

Keeping you up to date on our latest research
on the issues impacting New Hampshire

The Governor Must Cut Spending
Before She Delivers Budget

Every two years in New Hampshire we have a budget crisis. Some crises are worse than others but no budget seems to be easy. This year, a new governor has been welcomes to office with problems that demand she take action long before the official budget is even adopted. She has no choice but to take immediate executive action to cut the existing budget just winding down and then put on hold any new or increased spending for another two years... Click here to keep reading.

Updated Data on NHOpenGov

Now nearly 3.5 Million State Transactions

Ever wonder how and where New Hampshire spends your tax dollars? Look no further than NHOpenGov.org, an open government project of the Center. We now have more than 3.5 Million transactions detailing how every last dollar was spent from the past 4 1/2 years. Help us find government waste! Click here to start looking.

Bill Would Make NH Beer Tax Nearly 4x the Mass Rate

Governor Vows to Veto

HB 168, introduced by Reps Charles Weed and Richard Eaton, would increase the beer tax by $0.10 per gallon, putting the tax at $0.40 per gallon. This would make New Hampshire’s Beer Tax the 13^th highest in the country, (up from 19^th) and the highest in the North East. Massachusetts, in comparison, has a rate of only $0.11 per gallon... Click here to keep reading.

A Look at NH's December Unemployment Report

Slight Increase in Unemployment to 5.7%

According to New Hampshire Employment Security, December's unemployment rate for the state was 5.7%, a .1 percentage point increase over last month. This upturn translates to 430 additional unemployed workers. There were 7368 initial claimants over the month with 45,784 continued claimants.

Click here to keep reading.