NH Gets Tax Hike Bill
A New Hampshire bill that is calling for a 10-cent per gallon tax hike on beer that would cost a brewery such as Smuttynose Brewing Co. in Portsmouth about $133,000 annually in additional costs.
House Bill 168 is co-sponsored by Reps. Charles Weed, D-Keene, and Richard Eaton, D-Greenville. If passed, the bill states that it would raise an additional $4,295,108 for the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services alcohol abuse treatment and prevention fund by increasing the current beer tax from 30 cents to 40 cents per gallon.
Weed said he believes the bill is good for New Hampshire because “I think that government provides a service and people ought to pay for it.”
He also said the state needs more revenue and has been underfunded for quite some time. More importantly, Weed said the 10 cent tax increase would fund additional rehabilitation for people who are suffering from drug and/or alcohol abuse.
Guess they figure their breweries won’t move to Maine, Vermont or New York….
New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan spoke out against the bill yesterday, saying that she would veto the beer tax if it came to her desk.
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