Today's Column

[jcpliberty]

Read OUR Lips: No Sales Taxes
By: Jim C. Perry ? January 2, 2005
Copyright 2005**

"AN ACT establishing a committee to study the feasibility of imposing a luxury sales tax and an amusements tax." Thus reads the title line of HB51  a bill introduced by State Representatives Reed, Pratt and P. Allen, all of Cheshire County and all Democrats.

New Hampshire citizens have long been noted for their strong opposition to taxes. We have no personal income tax and no sales tax. Though it had seemed that New Hampshire's tax burden was increasing at a fast pace during the early nineties, it peaked in 1992. Since then, the combination of a steady increase in individual income and a
declining tax burden have caused 2004 to close out with a tax burden of only 7.5% of income - 2.8% lower than 1992's closing tax burden of 10.3%.

When it comes to 'bang for the buck', we have some of the best services per dollar in the nation. Our schools are well maintained and our state government is more efficient than most other state governments. Not to mention that our highways are in great condition
despite our outright refusal of Federal dollars earmarked for maintenance of our highways. Why do we need a sales tax?

Now, I know that this bill is not going to impose a sales tax on us right away by its passage. It is only to allow a committee to be established to study the feasibility of a sales tax on so-called luxuries and amusements. However, just the thought that there are
Representatives out there willing to tax people for enjoying themselves sickens me.

I believe an amusement and luxury sales tax would cause some residents to stop buying as many luxury items and going out for entertainment as much.

This could cause state morale to go down along with the incomes of the small businesses that sell these luxuries and amusements. Not to mention it is plain wrong to impose a tax on people enjoying themselves. Why would anyone want to prevent people from having a good time? How could a State Representative want to cause small businesses to lose money and shut down?

My initial question when I saw this bill was why they were even inquiring about a sales tax in the first place. Was there not enough funding for basic government functions? I figured out the answer on my own after finding out that according to the Commission on Government Efficiency, there are a lot of state departments scrambling, at places like Radio Shack, to use up all the money they have left over the end of the fiscal year. These departments are afraid of losing that extra money in the next year's budget. So there is no shortage in revenue.

Still confused, my only conclusion as to why a state sales tax would even be suggested when our government is efficiently funded for the essential services it provides, is that these Democrats who proposed it have some sort of pet program for which they want to have money available. Either that or they have a vendetta against people enjoying
themselves.

**Copyright Notice: Permission granted to copy, distribute and display the work under the following conditions: you must give the author credit; you may not use this work for commercial purposes; and you may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. This copyright notice must accompany any and all copies of this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you get permission from the copyright holder, Jim C. Perry.

[Kat Kanning]

Nice!  Are you going to send it out as a LTE?

[jcpliberty]

Nice!  Are you going to send it out as a LTE?

I always do, they never get published, usually.

JP

[Kat Kanning]

Do you ever send them to the Keene Sentinel?  They publish most all the LTEs they get.

[jcpliberty]

I haven't, will do.

Thanks,
JP

[Russell Kanning]

It might be a little too long for an LTE. Maybe make a shorter version for that purpose. I don't know. Some other guys might be able to help you get them used in newspapers.

[Lloyd Danforth]

Try dropping the copyright stuff.

[Dave Ridley]

JP yes you do need to make the letters shorter, usually 300 words is pushing it.  Union Leader limits you to 200 words.   Guide to writing LTE's in NH:

http://www.soulawakenings.com/underground/tikiwiki/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=8

Generally I'm sure it's better not to write NH papers as a Mass resident however, best wait till you get here and can write from an NH address. 

There are other options at that link however, for other types of writing you can do in the meantime.   We could always use more liberty lovers writing on the forums listed there.

[Russell Kanning]

JP is local Nashua now.

[jcpliberty]

JP is local Nashua now.

I've been in Nashua for a few months now!

JP

P.S. My letters are not. They are meant to be columns and as such I will not cut them down to size. This is the shortest of any column I have ever written, however. I used to be published quite regularly as a columnist in the Billerica Minuteman, the local newspaper in Billerica, MA back when I lived there.

[jcpliberty]

Also- when I send my columns to the newspaper, I never include the copyright notice.

JP

[Lloyd Danforth]

Also- when I send my columns to the newspaper, I never include the copyright notice.

JP

Oh