Greenland and Rye state representative Dennis Malloy led the bipartisan charge to kill a bill that would redistribute the Rooms, Meals and Rental tax (RMR) costing the Seacoast nearly $3 million in direct appropriations from the RMR fund with a loss of $200 thousand to Greenland and a complete loss to Rye of over $500 thousand.
In the Ways and Means Committee report to kill HB 1474-FN Rep. Malloy said this would change the formula for the municipal distribution of 30% of the RMR. It lowers or eliminates completely the RMR tax payout to a combined 109 communities in New Hampshire and will increase the property taxes on businesses and residents in the affected communities. Many other towns and cities would enjoy a double-digit percentage revenue increase. Communities both large and small that contribute most to the RMR would lose.
Two of the largest New Hampshire municipalities will reap $2 million and $3 million windfalls respectively if this goes into effect. An area of the state (Seaccoast) where tourism is vital to the economic wellbeing will lose $3 million. This bill pits our communities against each other, picking winners and losers. Many of the communities that lose out are economic engines for the state, and their losses will damage our economy
Quoting from Seacoast On-Line, “From what I’ve heard, there’s a lot of consternation over this, and so it’s most likely an ITL,” said the committee’s chair, Rep. John Janigan, a Salem Republican, using an acronym for “inexpedient to legislate.” “I would concur. A lot of us have talked about this, and we’re having trouble with it,” replied Rep. Dennis Malloy, a Democrat of Greenland, a town that could have lost over $200,000 if the bill passed. “A lot of things that don’t make sense, don’t seem fair.” He later moved to kill the legislation and was joined by several Democratic colleagues. Rep. Terry Spahr, whose constituency includes Hanover, the home of Dartmouth College, said, “I don’t find this a very well-thought-out bill from my perspective." Rep. Thomas Oppel of Canaan noted that the communities that generate the most revenue from tourism will be hit hardest.