CONCORD – House Republican Leader Dick Hinch (R-Merrimack) issued a statement relative to the public hearing on HB1492, a Democrat sponsored bill which establishes a tax on the retail sale of certain electronic devices. The bill, as introduced, would impose a 4.3% sales tax on a long list of items including:
- Television sets and related equipment
- Video games and all related play systems and equipment
- Smart watches and similar products and related equipment
- Computers and related equipment, including desktop computers, tablet computers, laptop computers, printers, scanners, faxes and all related hardware and software
- Cell phones and smart phones and related equipment therefore
“This is a sales tax. This is a sales tax on products that families and businesses use everyday that will cost us millions,” Hinch said. “This is a sales tax on many productivity and learning tools and it will make these tools less affordable to low income families and small businesses. If this were to become law, who’s to say Democrats wouldn’t expand it to cover even more products or eventually all products? I’m confident that this bill will be short circuited by a governor’s veto. They’ve spent the last year and a half trying to pass an income tax, I guess it’s no surprise a sales tax is next on the menu. This is such a crazy idea, I can’t believe it was even introduced. If they pass this bill, it will be another a fine kettle of fish for New Hampshire.”