Wednesday was the start of the filing period to run for state offices in New Hampshire. Although the General Election is not until November 3, if primary elections are required for any offices they will be held on September 8.
A key issue this election cycle will be the level of taxation New Hampshire citizens can or should accept. Thus, I pose the question: Are the voters in Meredith & Gilford, which together constitute Belknap County House District 2, ready for large increases in taxes?
Well, they are coming! And not just for those towns, but statewide!
And the increases in taxes will be like pouring salt on the wounds we have all suffered during the virus shutdown of nearly all activities, private and public.
Although prior sessions of our state’s legislature lowered business taxes, which have a major impact on small businesses in our community and state, with state revenues this year being down because of the reduced business activity caused by the shutdown over the virus, there is a very high likelihood that our state will be faced with a significant budget deficit. There already exists an automatic increase in our two business taxes that will occur because of reduced state revenues.
With a deficit looming, it is a near certainty that we will see calls for raising taxes, not only on businesses, but on all our citizens- calls for imposition of a broad based sales tax and possibly even a state income tax can be expected. But they must be resisted in the strongest possible terms.
We must live within our means, even if that requires cutting state expenditures. As our late former Governor Mel Thomson famously said, “Low taxes are the result of low spending.”
There are many other critical issues facing our state and communities: Energy costs are much too high. Although there seems to be a shortage of qualified workers, our state needs to encourage development of businesses that will attract people to settle here and build families and contribute to our communities. Opportunities for vocational education must be expanded. And we need to protect the environmental quality of Lake Winnipesaukee.
During 2017 and 2018, it was my privilege to serve the citizens of Meredith and Gilford as one of the elected State Representatives from Belknap County District 2. During those years, I served on the Election Law Committee, participating in its efforts to rationalize the unusual and somewhat incoherent election laws in our state; and I served as a member of the Belknap County Delegation, with its main responsibility being oversight and approval of the County’s budget.
I have consistently voted against raising taxes, imposing new taxes and regulations on our citizens, and increasing the size of state and county government. And given the opportunity, I will do so once again.
Just to be crystal clear: I will never vote in favor of a state income tax or a broad-based sales tax, and I will seek to repeal our “secret” income tax that is called the tax on interests ÷nds.
As a strong believer in our US and New Hampshire Constitutions, I consider myself to be a constitutional conservative, pledging to preserve, protect and defend them AS WRITTEN, as we should expect from all of our elected officials.
Thus, I humbly ask the voters from Meredith & Gilford to vote for me when I run later this year to return to the New Hampshire House as one of their Representatives from Belknap County District 2.
If anyone has any questions about me and my political beliefs and the things for which I stand, or if they would like to help in my campaign, they should feel free to contact me at 293-0565 or by email at njs@silbersnh.com.
