New Hampshire Businesses Oppose HB 155
To Governor of New Hampshire and Members of the Legislature:
As New Hampshire business owners and leaders, we know that tax rates alone do not determine whether our businesses can succeed and grow. More than anything, we need solutions to address the systemic challenges that affect our bottom line. Being a truly business-friendly state means public investment in the economic infrastructure that businesses depend on — an available workforce, affordable housing, accessible child care, and competitive energy costs.
Right now the New Hampshire Legislature is considering HB 155, a continued and unnecessary cut to the Business Enterprise Tax rate. According to a recent report from the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute (NHFPI), this further reduction in the BET will cost the state more than $26 million every year while delivering little to no real benefit for most businesses. The average business that pays the BET would save roughly $28 a month — not enough to hire a worker, expand operations, or make a meaningful difference to any bottom line. We call on the Legislature to retain that revenue and direct it toward the investments that would actually strengthen our businesses and our state’s economy.
The NHFPI report confirms what we already know: a decade of corporate tax cuts has not created jobs or boosted growth. Those cuts reduced state revenue, squeezed local budgets, and shifted costs onto towns and property taxpayers — driving up the property taxes that hurt workers, families, and local businesses alike. New Hampshire businesses and working families cannot afford to keep absorbing those costs.
New Hampshire’s economy runs on working people. If lawmakers want to strengthen New Hampshire’s business environment, the path forward is clear: invest in affordable housing so workers can live near their jobs, fund child care as essential economic infrastructure, support job training and adequately fund public schools, and work toward policies that increase energy competitiveness for all businesses. These are the investments that could make New Hampshire the premier destination for talent and business in the Northeast — and they are exactly what HB 155 would undermine.
From where we stand — running businesses, employing people, and serving our communities — we urge the Legislature to reject HB 155 and instead make the public investments needed to strengthen our workforce, our communities, and the long-term health of New Hampshire’s economy.
Respectfully yours,
New Hampshire Business Owners and Business Leaders
(Names, businesses, and towns listed below)