2 weeks Ago
On the eve of the federal tax filing deadline, a conservative coalition called upon the state’s all-Democratic congressional delegation to drop its opposition and support the extension of Trump tax cuts set to expire later this year. Greg Moore, regional director of Americans for Prosperity, a fiscally-conservative group, said if Congress does nothing, the average New Hampshire family will experience a tax increase of $3,400 when they file a return a year from now. “People are struggling right now and this adds an additional burden that they do not need,” Moore said at a news conference Monday morning in the Legislative Office Building.
Andrew Cline, president of the Josiah Bartlett Center, a free-market watchdog group, said if the Trump tax provisions expire then taxes will go up by 1% of the entire Gross Domestic Product by 2054. “The myth going around for decades is the federal debt and deficit are driven by tax cuts; that is not true. They are driven by spending because revenues since 1960 equal 17% of GDP while spending has consumed 20% of that benchmark,” Cline said.
State Rep. Brian Labrie, R-Bedford and a landscaping business owner, said entrepreneurs move here to set up shop because New Hampshire has one of the lowest tax burdens in the country. “What does all of that matter if we are going to get crushed at the federal level?” Labrie asked rhetorically.
“If this continues to go through, everyone is going to end up right back where we started.” Rep. Dan McGuire, R-Epsom, chairman of the Granite State Taxpayers, said Congress must start living within the country’s means.
“It’s not fun, it’s not easy, it’s not pleasant but it’s necessary because at some point we are getting to Greece or Venezuela territory,” McGuire said. U.S.
Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, along with Reps. Chris Pappas and Maggie Goodlander, all D-N.
H., oppose the tax cuts maintaining that most of their benefit goes to the wealthy. “The cost of extending the Trump Tax Cuts, which disproportionately benefit the ultra-wealthy, is adding $4.
5 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, kicking thousands of Granite Staters off of Medicaid, and slowing long-term economic growth,” Democratic Party Chairman Raymond Buckley said in a statement. “Extending the Trump Tax Cuts is bad for Granite Staters and bad for our economy, plain and simple.” Trump and allies may not need any help from congressional Democrats as they pursue the tax cut through the budget reconciliation process.
This means it would take only majority votes in Congress to pass, not the 60-vote supermajority needed to overcome a filibuster in the U.S. Senate.
“It’s one thing to support a concept; it’s another thing to support a bill,” said Moore. AFP continues to promote the message with digital advertising calling upon congressional Democrats to have a change of heart. The group is planning an informational picket outside the office of Rep.
and U.S. Senate candidate Pappas’ office in Manchester Tuesday morning.
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