Entries by Andrew Cline

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New Hampshire ranked the freest state in North America for the 23rd year

New Hampshire is once again the freest state both in the United States and on the North American continent, topping each index in this year’s Economic Freedom of North America report, released today by the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy in conjunction with Canada’s Fraser Institute. “Granite Staters continue to choose policies that empower […]

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Cigarette smuggling boosted New Hampshire revenues by nearly $1 billion over 15 years

New Hampshire is the No. 3 state in the country for outbound cigarette smuggling, resulting in a revenue windfall, concludes the latest annual report on interstate cigarette smuggling from the Tax Foundation and Mackinac Center for Public Policy. From 2007-2022, New Hampshire earned $955 million in state revenue from cigarette buyers who then smuggled their […]

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Five man-made reasons to be thankful for living in New Hampshire

Thanksgiving is a time to count your blessings, and Granite Staters have a cornucopia of them.  Aside from the obvious charms of the state’s natural beauty, its variety of coastline, lakes, hills and mountains, its plentiful ice cream shops and its abundant maple syrup, humans have created additional benefits of living here. Below are five […]

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New England state renewable energy mandates will double energy costs, cause rolling blackouts, while NH policies reduce regional costs

With New England state governments committed to reducing their carbon emissions at least 80% by 2050, residents and businesses can expect electricity rates to double, along with rolling blackouts, according to a new joint report completed by several of the region’s leading think tanks. The study concludes that weather dependent “renewable” energies — like wind […]

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New Hampshire passes Texas on tax competitiveness

New Hampshire this year slipped ahead of Texas to claim the No. 6 spot on a national index of state tax competitiveness published by the Tax Foundation. Formerly the Business Tax Climate Index, the newly redesigned 2025 State Tax Competitiveness Index combines the Tax Foundation’s indexes for corporate, individual income, sales, property and unemployment insurance […]

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Debunking five myths about N.H.’s business tax cuts

Nine years after the state began reducing business tax rates, five narratives are driving the policy discussion of those cuts. All five are false.   In a new briefing paper, we debunk the five most common myths about the business tax cuts that ran from 2015-2022. Background: From 2015-2022, legislators cut the Business Profits Tax […]

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After tax cuts, businesses pay a larger share of state revenue

Businesses not paying their fair share. Shrinking state revenues. A tax burden shifted from businesses to property tax payers.  Those were the predictions critics have made since 2015, when New Hampshire legislators began a series of business tax cuts.  Not only did those predictions fail to materialize, but the exact opposite happened. Since the rate […]

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Freedom’s just another word for everything to lose

Among his many memorable contributions to American arts, the great singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson, who passed away in September, wrote one of the most quotable lines in rock history. “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” It’s a fabulous drifter anthem.  It’s also entirely wrong.  Part of the American political left at the time […]