Timothy Horrigan for NH House

09/26/2025

Here is a letter to the editor (or maybe an op-ed, since it is over 250 words) submitted yesterday to my local newspaper, the Dover NH Foster's Daily Democrat (& the virtually identical Portsmouth Herald.)

---------

My fellow members of the New Hampshire General Court are very proud of the fact that our state does not have a broad-based sales tax. We do have the 8.5% Meals & Rooms (Rental) Tax which functions very much like a sales tax, arguably because it is in fact a sales tax. But, even though it covers a wide variety of services, our M&R Tax is not a broad-based sales tax.

Supposedly, our lack of a broad-based sales tax is a big part of our "New Hampshire Advantage," because of all the retailers who choose to locate on our side of the state line to avoid taxation. Certainly, our state's economy does have a vibrant retail sector, but the same can be said for our three neighboring states, even though Vermont, Massachusetts and Maine all have broad-based sales taxes.

This brings me to Ian Lenahan's story about the impending demolition of the Fox Run Mall ("Mall at Fox Run shop owners seek new homes before expected demolition: 'I love it here'", September 23). Two of the mall's remaining tenants told your reporter Ian Lenahan that they were planning to move to Kittery, which makes sense, since it is one of New England's most popular shopping destinations. Kittery is, ironically, located in Maine, which has a 5.5% broad-based sales tax. But, it is nevertheless still a great place to locate a retail business. Go figure!

I myself do a lot of my clothes shopping in Kittery at the "outlet malls." Yes, I do pay a little sales tax, but the stores in Kittery have what I want, at prices which are still relatively reasonable even with the added sales tax. And, for whatever it's worth, many of the employees of those stores commute from New Hampshire, even though Maine has a broad-based income tax.

Finally, I should mention that there are over 1,000 bills which will be taken up by the New Hampshire legislature in 2026, but not one of them is a broad-based sales or income tax bill.

Thanks,
NH State Rep. Timothy Horrigan (Durham)

07/31/2025

Caitlin D. Davis received glowing endorsements from across the political spectrum during a public hearing on her nomination to lead the New Hampshire Department of Education.

07/31/2025

Virginia Giuffre died by su***de Friday at her farm in Western Australia, her publicist confirmed.

07/21/2025

I wrote a Letter to the Editor about Tracy Kidder's opinion piece.

The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, better known as "SNAP" or "food stamps" was established 60 years ago as part of President Johnson's "Great Society Program" (as noted by Tracy Kidder in his July 20 Opinion Piece.). It is an extraordinarily efficient program which is a prime target of the Trump Republicans' current budget cuts. The genius of SNAP is that it allows aid recipients to simply go to the supermarket like anyone else. SNAP originally required special coupons (hence the nickname "food stamps") but now recipients use so-called "EBT cards" which look no different from regular credit or debit cards. SNAP doesn't punish the poor for being poor.

Food banks like the one described in Kidder's piece have their place and are wonderful, but they are run almost entirely by volunteers and are open only a few hours a week. And, the food banks are a target of the Trumpers' wrath for various reasons, including the fact that the clients don't look sufficiently destitute when they line up to get their food.

SNAP is one of a series of food programs which started long before the Johnson Administration. The main purpose of these programs was originally to stabilize markets for farmers and the rest of the food chain. Feeding the hungry was just a side effect, although until recently it was universally considered to be a desirable side effect.

NH State Rep. Timothy Horrigan; Durham, NH; ph: 603-969-3823; email: [email protected]

America is unraveling its safety net.

07/16/2025

Today, liberty won.