Senate quickly kills proposed income tax on high wage earners

CONCORD — A last-minute amendment to create a new tax on annual incomes above $132,900 was presented, discussed and unanimously rejected by the six-member Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, all in about an hour.

The amendment to an unrelated House bill was co-sponsored by Democratic state Sens. Jeanne Dietsch of Peterborough and Martha Fuller Clark of Portsmouth, along with Democratic Rep. Tom Schamberg of Wilmot.

Dietsch presented the bill as a way to address the funding crisis facing many school districts in the state’s property poor communities, which she said is placing a crushing burden on local property tax payers.

The proposal called for a payroll deduction on high earners in order to reduce the Statewide Education Property Tax (SWEPT), collected locally but turned over to the state to help pay the state share of education funding.

Read more: https://www.unionleader.com/news/politics/state/senate-quickly-kills-proposed-income-tax-on-high-wage-earners/article_7d9b8337-bbb9-56b0-98f2-9ab39495c94e.html