Why doesn't New Hampshire have general sales tax?

Wretched1

You could write a whole dissertation on why NH does not have a sales tax. Most of it would be political opinion and dogma. The most obvious reason is that for many NH Businesses, having no obvious sales tax is a benefit. Consumers from Mass, Maine, and Vermont will willingly travel to NH to purchase items, instead of paying their state sales tax. Many of NH border towns rely on the tourism and sales, which would go away if we added a sales tax. It is also the reason we have liquor stores on Interstate 93. It is an incentive to Mass's tourist to come to NH. On the way to or from they can stop and pick up alcohol cheaper than at home, and since the state controls the "hard" liquor, it benefits from the hidden sin tax and sales income. Now, all of this is just surface discussion, and more could be argued. Plain and simple, it has not been passed by the State Government. "Additionally, New Hampshire's lack of a broad-based tax system (aside from the controversial state-wide property tax) has resulted in the state's local communities having some of the nation's highest property taxes. Overall, New Hampshire remains ranked 49th among states in combined average state and local tax burden." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hampshire#Economy Jun 14 08, 11:16 PM