New Hampshire Democrats are proposing a tax that would hike the price you pay for gasoline, heating oil, propane, and electricity produced by coal, oil, gas, or wood. All of that. And, everything else.
The bill calls for a fee based on the per-ton emission of carbon dioxide, starting at $20 per ton in 2020 and increasing each year, based on a complicated formula, to $53 per ton by 2023.
The fate or your fuel and electric bill (which will never go down, by the way) will be determined by an unelected commission and charged against any carbon-based fuel “sold, used, or entered into the state.”
Costs passed down into every single good and service in the state.
Add that on top of RGGI.
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative was rammed through by Democrat majorities back in the 2006-2008 session. It’s a carbon tax. It makes Electricity cost more. Efforts to undo it have been hampered by Democrats and Republicans alike. The legislature did manage changes that gave most of the kickbacks from RGGI back to rate relief. But the beast is still under the bed waiting for us to fall asleep so it can make electric rates even higher.
Democrats figured why wait? Let’s tax everything including wind and solar which cannot be manufactured without fossil fuels.
But wait! They are taking all that money so they can give it back!? Well, most of it.
The Devil is in the Details
HB735 says it will return 70% of the tax which makes you wonder why they’d bother.
IV. No later than 6 months after the effective date of this chapter, the department shall adopt a schedule of fees to be levied on the sources of greenhouse gas emissions identified in this chapter. No later than 9 months after enactment, department shall adopt rules and publish the mechanism by which 70 percent of the fees collected under this program shall be rebated to the residents of the state of New Hampshire. For such rebates, every adult shall receive one full share, while every child under the age of 18 shall receive one-half share, with no single family unit to receive more than the equivalent of 3 full shares. In determining the most efficacious mechanism for providing rebates to New Hampshire residents, the department shall prioritize direct property tax relief and the provision of funding to individuals receiving Section 8 housing assistance under the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
According to the Union Leader’s reporting, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services says this new tax will extract $300 million from the state economy in 2020 and rise to $795 million by 2023.
No small sum. Seventy percent of which some government agency will give back with an emphasis on redistributing it to people on taxpayer-supported housing assistance.
How long before that 70% number becomes something lower and the majority of that “rebate” finds a way to offset spending in the state budget?
What the Legislature Taketh Away…
With Democrats running scams like this while adding to the cost of living and doing business job creators and families are going to have to “make adjustments.” The result of this, on top of the Left’s habit of demanding new taxes because they overestimated revenues, will be even less revenue. In other words. It’s a trap.
A trap within a trap. Even before the budget eats your rebate it will get swallowed by HB735’s impact on your cost of living. Transportation, manufacturing, everything is impacted by this tax. And who pays the most when the left embraces regressive taxes? I don’t know, but we could start with the folks in Section 8 Housing. Or that smattering of minimum wage workers. Then working poor families, regular middle-class schlubs. Everyone who thinks about money before they spend it.
Party of the little guy my ass.
Here’s an idea. Forget about your stupid tax. Leave 100% of the revenue in the pockets of residents and job creators. And offer to reduce their tax burdens for doing the things you’d like to see done. It’s less destructive to jobs and the economy. It’s a better overall incentive. And it doesn’t require complex formulas of unelected committees.
Don’t worry. There is no chance in hell of that happening. This is not about carbon or CO2 or green programs. It’s about control. And if you give it to them they’ll do anything they can to make sure you never get it back.
Note: The hearing is Wednesday (tomorrow) 1:30 p.m. in Room 304 of the Legislative Office Building.
|Union Leader
