Janet Metcalf: Balancing the budget requires close look at income, expenses

To The Daily Sun,

Fiscal responsibility is important in family finances as well as in state and national government. Balancing a budget requires a close look at income, expenses, and what is important.

A recent study by the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute (nhfpi.org) finds that “business tax rate reductions have cost the state between $795 million and $1.7 billion in forgone revenue since 2015 without the promised bump in revenue due to increased economic activity, “ according to an article by Gary Rayno published in InDepthNH (New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism).

Business taxes are an important source of income for the state of New Hampshire. Changing the tax rate reductions for business should be part of balancing the budget.

Instead of making New Hampshire businesses pay more of their share, this week, the House Finance Committee voted to recommend cutting medicaid rates by 3%, eliminating funds for family planning clinics, and suspending farmers market programs for poor women, infants and children which they claim will save the state $290 million over two years.

Who is the New Hampshire state Legislature looking to serve? Reducing tax cuts for businesses would mean we don’t have to cut programs that actually are life lines for many New Hampshire residents.

Janet Metcalf

Bristol