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Thread: Higher Sales Taxes Will Drive Mainers to Shop in New Hampshire

  1. #1

    Higher Sales Taxes Will Drive Mainers to Shop in New Hampshire

    Higher Sales Taxes Will Drive Mainers to Shop in New Hampshire
    http://www.themainewire.com/2014/10/...hop-hampshire/
    By
    jsmoody
    on
    October 8, 2014


    On October 1, 2013, Mainers felt the sting of a 10 percent increase in the sales to 5.5 percent from 5 percent and 14 percent increase in the Meals and Lodging tax to 8 percent from 7 percent.

    It is well-known that Maine and New Hampshire are polar opposites when it comes to tax policy. In Fiscal Year 2011, Maine has one of the highest tax burdens in the country at 18.5 percent of private sector personal income (6th highest) while New Hampshire has one of the lowest tax burdens at 11.4 percent (49th highest). These 7.1 percentage points represent one of, if not the, largest tax differentials between any two states in the country.

    The close geographic proximity of the two states leads to numerous arbitrage opportunities for Mainers to escape their significantly higher tax burden. The most obvious way is through direct cross-border shopping which we know occurs up and down the Maine-New Hampshire border. More specifically, Mainers are engaging in cross-border shopping in New Hampshire in response to Maine’s higher sales tax, cigarette tax, gasoline tax, bottle tax and alcohol taxes (beer, wine and liquor).

    Table 1 shows that nationally the Gross Domestic Product for the retail and wholesale industries generates $6,184 for every person in the country in 2013. Maine is significantly below the national average with $5,644 per person (-8.7 percent). On the other hand, New Hampshire is significantly above the national average with $7,141 per person (15.5 percent).

    Of course, this trend has been going on for a long time. As shown in Chart 1, New Hampshire’s retail and wholesale industries have outperformed Maine’s in every year between 1997 and 2013. More troubling, the gap between the two states has also been growing over that time-period.
    Read the other half of the article and see 2 pretty graphics. http://www.themainewire.com/2014/10/...hop-hampshire/
    Lifetime member of more than 1 national gun organization and the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance. Part of Young Americans for Liberty and Campaign for Liberty. Free State Project participant and multi-year Free Talk Live AMPlifier.



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  3. #2

  4. #3
    ...where they will proceed to set up residences and vote with the massholes to institute a sales tax.

  5. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by GunnyFreedom View Post
    ...where they will proceed to set up residences and vote with the massholes to institute a sales tax.
    Thank Christ, right now, it seems the Massholes tend to bypass NH and head straight to Maine.

    They are doing their level best to transform Maine into one giant Cape Cod or Martha's Vinyard, which is to say, a wealthy, collectivist, trendy, leisure class at about 5 percent of the population, and a servant class of everybody else, living in "working poverty" and desperately struggling to get by.

    Production, farming, fishing, logging and other middle class endevours are frowned upon and discouraged.

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by GunnyFreedom View Post
    ...where they will proceed to set up residences and vote with the massholes to institute a sales tax.
    I think (and hope) the article is more about people in ME driving to the border, filling up their cars with goods and then driving back to ME to sleep Though, most ME Republicans tend to be okay on my issues. I wouldn't mind if a few of them actually moved to NH
    Lifetime member of more than 1 national gun organization and the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance. Part of Young Americans for Liberty and Campaign for Liberty. Free State Project participant and multi-year Free Talk Live AMPlifier.

  7. #6
    How dare the government of New Hampshire lower their taxes thus putting Maine businesses at a disadvantage.... shame on them....









    /sarc
    __________________________________________________ ________________
    "A politician will do almost anything to keep their job, even become a patriot" - Hearst

  8. #7
    I view it a little differently than Keith, AF, and Gunny (even though all 3 of their points are true). I see progress being made in ME. NH is showing ME an example, and ME has been starting to swing towards that example. Between what happened at the 2012 convention, the election of LePage, and now his possible (likely?) re-election, this is progress that can hopefully be extended to the State Legislature this midterm.

    It's also interesting to see these changes happen in ME, while VT seems to be continuing as it has been.
    Last edited by invisible; 10-09-2014 at 08:03 PM. Reason: add last sentence
    I have an autographed copy of Revolution: A Manifesto for sale. Mint condition, inquire within. (I don't sign in often, so please allow plenty of time for a response)

  9. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by invisible View Post
    Between what happened at the 2012 convention, the election of LePage, and now his possible (likely?) re-election, this is progress that can hopefully be extended to the State Legislature this midterm.
    This is the last part of the article.

    The only good news for Maine’s beleaguered entrepreneurs is that the sales tax hike is set to expire in less than a year. Let’s hope Maine’s policymakers have learned their lesson and let the sales tax hike expire as planned.
    While LaPage was governor, the sales tax increased from 5% to 5.5%. If he doesn't get reelected, I cannot imagine the sales tax going back to 5%. In fact, in the recent debate, the Independent (socialist) candidate said that he would try to push the sales tax up (from what is supposed to soon be 5%) to 6% or a 7% seasonal rate. The Democrat was also promising crazy stuff.

    I share your thoughts about additional Republicans being elected to the ME state house this year. A Republican might even be the next governor of MA.
    Lifetime member of more than 1 national gun organization and the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance. Part of Young Americans for Liberty and Campaign for Liberty. Free State Project participant and multi-year Free Talk Live AMPlifier.



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  11. #9
    Maybe when Scott Brown is finished with New Hampshire he will go to Maine. <S>
    “The spirits of darkness are now among us. We have to be on guard so that we may realize what is happening when we encounter them and gain a real idea of where they are to be found. The most dangerous thing you can do in the immediate future will be to give yourself up unconsciously to the influences which are definitely present.” ~ Rudolf Steiner

  12. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by donnay View Post
    Maybe when Scott Brown is finished with New Hampshire he will go to Maine. <S>
    That's funny

    On the bright side, the higher excise taxes go in Maine, the more stores are likely to appear in New Hampshire. For example, Portsmouth, NH recently got a Trader Joe's and a Whole Foods is being built there. There are a bunch of Market Basket stores near the NH side of the NH/ME border. In fact, that seemed to be the strategy for years. Now there is finally 1 store in ME.
    Lifetime member of more than 1 national gun organization and the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance. Part of Young Americans for Liberty and Campaign for Liberty. Free State Project participant and multi-year Free Talk Live AMPlifier.



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