With the added candidate forums and candidate exposure the voters of Exeter had a good opportunity to meet the candidates, see the candidates and ask questions of them. The other interesting issue is the questions that were asked. These questions tell you what is on peoples minds and what concerns them.
During the town employee event the questions were very revealing. They centered on hostile work environments, bad communications and asking if the selectman candidates would take the time to talk to them. For clarification the questions asked, except for the public portion, were submitted in writing and read by the three interviewers. That way no employees could be singled out for retribution at a later date which was a main concern for those who wanted to ask questions.
I do not think the selectman know of the problems festering just under the surface. We didn’t have time to get to about 100 more questions; but, they were informative; many centered around simple things like pay checks being routinely wrong. If you want to cause low moral, continually get a person’s pay check wrong. Bad communications between the town managers office and the employees was a major area; this just seems to be the result of bad management coming from the town office building.
Hostile work environment issues became evident through private conversations and the deliberative session when the director of finance publicly attacked the two people who the town manager’s budget tried to get rid of. Then at the town office building candidates forum the town manager’s secretary attacked the local union chapter who held the first candidates forum; these are all town employees with the attacks coming from the headquarters staff against anyone who doesn’t keep their mouths shut and talk about the problems within the town. Instead of attacking the staff, fix the problems and move on to other issues facing us, like the capital improvement projects and reducing taxes. This is not rocket science it is common sense. For this little group of merry liberals trying to control the board and the town, focus on fixing the problems for the betterment of everyone, not just you.
There is no question that a “bunker mentality” has set in at the town office building. Only two members seem to care about these problems, Matt and Bob Eastman and Bob is leaving in a couple of weeks. Due to the make up of the board the political clique was the three liberals against the two conservatives so nothing could get done. The only way to fix this is to make the changes we need on the board and put on two new faces. Julie Gilman needs to go, she is part of the problem and not part of the solution; fortunately, more and more people are seeing that.
Between Ann, Brian and Sandy anyone of them would be a good choice; my personal choice is Sandy for his business experience and his no nonsense style of dealing with problems. That only comes from starting a business, making it grow and making payroll.
As taxpayers the mess in the finance office needs to be cleaned up; finances are the most important part of any government or business. They may need more staff; but, because of the general incompetence it is impossible to tell.
The voters, taxpayers and the Town of Exeter in general deserves better than what they have been getting and this election will determine the direction the town will go.
On March 9 the liberals will do the best they can to turn out the vote to keep their power base on the board; but, the winds of discontent are blowing and hopefully we will have a good voter turnout to make the changes we need.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
EXETER CHAMBER LLC MEETING!!!
About a week ago I went to the Exeter Chamber of Commerce, as advertised to its members, as an LLC information meeting with the guest speaker our one and only local senator. I was truly interested to see what was going through the liberal’s heads when they pushed an income tax on 45,000 LLC’s in NH. Knowing that the tax magnet was going to be the guest speaker I was curious.
I’m still curious because instead of explaining the changes she was trying to defend them. Then the speech degenerated into a Senator Maggie campaign speech about how wonderful the liberals are and all the wonderful things they have accomplished. Our local senator touched on about everything from health care, health care delivery, the RGGI tax on our electric bill, insulation of homes; the list goes on and on. It was about a 2 hour campaign speech.
On two occasions people either asked questions that she couldn’t answer or made the statement, in a very polite manner, that her information was not accurate; OH, OH, BUSTED. An indirect admission that she didn’t know what she was doing when she pushed this through. What a surprise??
I still did not get any information that helped me to understand exactly what they did and why. Only a designated attempt to smooth over what was done in the hopes you wouldn’t hold it against her in the next election. I would hate to live in a house with all the mirrors painted so I didn’t have to look at myself in shame.
I did call the chamber presidents office a few days later and left the message that most of the information the tax magnet put out was wrong and we could bring down a senator or two to address the chamber on the facts of what the LLC will do and how it was done. I’m still waiting for a return call.
I am waiting for a friend to return from a trip to invite him and any other senator who wants to come to Exeter to set the record straight and we will find a place to meet.
I am disappointed in the Exeter Chamber for not making an attempt at being fair and balanced in the information their members get.
I’m still curious because instead of explaining the changes she was trying to defend them. Then the speech degenerated into a Senator Maggie campaign speech about how wonderful the liberals are and all the wonderful things they have accomplished. Our local senator touched on about everything from health care, health care delivery, the RGGI tax on our electric bill, insulation of homes; the list goes on and on. It was about a 2 hour campaign speech.
On two occasions people either asked questions that she couldn’t answer or made the statement, in a very polite manner, that her information was not accurate; OH, OH, BUSTED. An indirect admission that she didn’t know what she was doing when she pushed this through. What a surprise??
I still did not get any information that helped me to understand exactly what they did and why. Only a designated attempt to smooth over what was done in the hopes you wouldn’t hold it against her in the next election. I would hate to live in a house with all the mirrors painted so I didn’t have to look at myself in shame.
I did call the chamber presidents office a few days later and left the message that most of the information the tax magnet put out was wrong and we could bring down a senator or two to address the chamber on the facts of what the LLC will do and how it was done. I’m still waiting for a return call.
I am waiting for a friend to return from a trip to invite him and any other senator who wants to come to Exeter to set the record straight and we will find a place to meet.
I am disappointed in the Exeter Chamber for not making an attempt at being fair and balanced in the information their members get.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
WELCOME TO NEW TAX-SHIRE, PART II
WELCOME TO NEW TAX-SHIRE
Part II
By Jeb Bradley
“I wish I had an answer to that because I'm tired of answering that question.” Yogi Berra
Governor Lynch firmly proclaimed in his State of the State Address this past week that Jobs, Jobs, and Jobs are the issues facing New Hampshire. Meanwhile, business leaders are scratching their heads asking how in the world can they create jobs amidst the demoralizing impact of large business tax hikes from Concord and the uncertainty of what comes next from a Legislature seemingly oblivious to the impact of the 38 taxes and fees they just raised in 2009?
The Governor avoided the sore subject of all these new taxes, especially the LLC Tax, a 5% levy on a significant portion of a business owner’s income. Business owners are angry and frustrated. In fact a new group, The Small Business and Small Industry Association www.sbsia.com was founded to help fight this new tax.
This business owner income tax comes against the backdrop of New Hampshire’s alarming unemployment rate jump to 7% with 51,625 people out of work. That bad news coupled with Senator Scott Brown’s stunning victory in Massachusetts left Concord Democrats in full denial on taxes. Even their spin made no sense.
One Democratic State Senator told the Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce, “only very very successful LLC owners who were not re-investing funds into businesses would have to be concerned.” The Governor’s office maintained the so-called LLC tax merely closes a loophole. The Chairman of the Democratic Party even said on the BlueHampshire Blog that business owners are being “scared” and that businesses “don’t have to pay any additional taxes.”
Really? So where is the $30 million that Democratic budget writers estimated the LLC Tax would produce actually coming from? That’s the proverbial $30 million question tax supporters can’t or won’t answer!
How does the LLC Tax work? It extends the 5% Interest and Dividends (I&D) tax to a business owner’s salary -- above a level of reasonable compensation defined by the Department of Revenue (DRA). How many LLCs and partnerships will be affected? No one knows but estimates start at 10,000. It could be thousands more.
What supporters of the LLC Tax ignore --- no other state or the federal government taxes small businesses in this manner. Why? Most people recognize that small businesses such as partnerships and LLCs are responsible for creating a large portion of the new jobs in America. The LLC tax will make New Hampshire self-destructively unique, undermining the very job creation energy needed to get 51,625 New Hampshire citizens back to work. Former DRA Commissioner Phil Blatsos called this tax an “insidious job killer” that could cost 600 jobs per year. Probably just for starters!
Many legislators in Concord believe businesses don’t contribute their fare share of taxes even though they produce some $500 to $600 million in annual revenue. So, how do business owners pay taxes in New Hampshire?
Small businesses typically pay the Business Enterprise Tax (BET) – a payroll tax of .75% on the salary of every employee including the owner. Because the largest expense for most small business is salary, they would typically not pay the 8.5% Business Profits Tax (BPT) unless they retained profits. But the impact of the BET is felt directly by small business owners because it’s straight from their bottom line.
On the other hand larger companies that are incorporated would typically pay the (BPT) on net profits. While these larger companies are subject to the BET, they are allowed to fully credit their BET exposure against the BPT. When a corporation pays a dividend to a passive investor, the investor not the corporation would pay the 5% I&D tax. A passive investor, however, is completely different from a business owner.
Corporate executives are not subject an income tax in the manner that LLC owners or partnerships now are, thanks to the LLC tax hitting a significant portion of an owner's salary. People who claim the LLC tax simply closes a loophole believe the owner’s salary is actually a dividend. Try telling that to a business owner working 18 hour days to keep the doors open, keep people employed and meet payroll every week. The other 6 hours the business owner is probably awake ….worrying about what cockeyed tax idea will come next from Concord! A full-fledged income tax?
It only gets worse for the business owner. For several years the DRA has conducted hard-hitting audits to determine if business owners pay themselves more than what government officials deem reasonable compensation. Per these aggressive DRA audits, any business owner salary above that bureaucratic definition of reasonable compensation is termed “profit” subject to the 8.5% BPT. Now thanks to the LLC Tax, that same salary will be subject to the 5% I&D Tax. So the effective tax rate for the small business owner is an ungodly 13.5% -- enough to keep business owners sleepless in New Hampshire!
Adding insult to injury, the Democratic Chairwoman of the House Ways and Means Committee has proposed legislation defining reasonable compensation so the 13.5% income tax on business owners kicks in on salary above $50,000 per business entity --an absolute killer if there is more than one owner. And DRA sets all the rules. No wonder business owners are crying foul and everyone concerned about JOBS is aghast at the plummeting business climate in New Hampshire.
What can people do? I have sponsored legislation to repeal the LLC Tax and remove DRA’s authority to determine what business owners can reasonably pay themselves without triggering a hefty tax bill. Those hearings will be held at the State House on February 9th at 10am. It is essential for people to travel to Concord and make their voices heard.
Alternatively Silence Means --- WELCOME TO NEW TAX-SHIRE!
PAID FOR BY FRIENDS OF JEB BRADLEY FOR STATE SENATE, EUGENE LEONE TREASURER
Part II
By Jeb Bradley
“I wish I had an answer to that because I'm tired of answering that question.” Yogi Berra
Governor Lynch firmly proclaimed in his State of the State Address this past week that Jobs, Jobs, and Jobs are the issues facing New Hampshire. Meanwhile, business leaders are scratching their heads asking how in the world can they create jobs amidst the demoralizing impact of large business tax hikes from Concord and the uncertainty of what comes next from a Legislature seemingly oblivious to the impact of the 38 taxes and fees they just raised in 2009?
The Governor avoided the sore subject of all these new taxes, especially the LLC Tax, a 5% levy on a significant portion of a business owner’s income. Business owners are angry and frustrated. In fact a new group, The Small Business and Small Industry Association www.sbsia.com was founded to help fight this new tax.
This business owner income tax comes against the backdrop of New Hampshire’s alarming unemployment rate jump to 7% with 51,625 people out of work. That bad news coupled with Senator Scott Brown’s stunning victory in Massachusetts left Concord Democrats in full denial on taxes. Even their spin made no sense.
One Democratic State Senator told the Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce, “only very very successful LLC owners who were not re-investing funds into businesses would have to be concerned.” The Governor’s office maintained the so-called LLC tax merely closes a loophole. The Chairman of the Democratic Party even said on the BlueHampshire Blog that business owners are being “scared” and that businesses “don’t have to pay any additional taxes.”
Really? So where is the $30 million that Democratic budget writers estimated the LLC Tax would produce actually coming from? That’s the proverbial $30 million question tax supporters can’t or won’t answer!
How does the LLC Tax work? It extends the 5% Interest and Dividends (I&D) tax to a business owner’s salary -- above a level of reasonable compensation defined by the Department of Revenue (DRA). How many LLCs and partnerships will be affected? No one knows but estimates start at 10,000. It could be thousands more.
What supporters of the LLC Tax ignore --- no other state or the federal government taxes small businesses in this manner. Why? Most people recognize that small businesses such as partnerships and LLCs are responsible for creating a large portion of the new jobs in America. The LLC tax will make New Hampshire self-destructively unique, undermining the very job creation energy needed to get 51,625 New Hampshire citizens back to work. Former DRA Commissioner Phil Blatsos called this tax an “insidious job killer” that could cost 600 jobs per year. Probably just for starters!
Many legislators in Concord believe businesses don’t contribute their fare share of taxes even though they produce some $500 to $600 million in annual revenue. So, how do business owners pay taxes in New Hampshire?
Small businesses typically pay the Business Enterprise Tax (BET) – a payroll tax of .75% on the salary of every employee including the owner. Because the largest expense for most small business is salary, they would typically not pay the 8.5% Business Profits Tax (BPT) unless they retained profits. But the impact of the BET is felt directly by small business owners because it’s straight from their bottom line.
On the other hand larger companies that are incorporated would typically pay the (BPT) on net profits. While these larger companies are subject to the BET, they are allowed to fully credit their BET exposure against the BPT. When a corporation pays a dividend to a passive investor, the investor not the corporation would pay the 5% I&D tax. A passive investor, however, is completely different from a business owner.
Corporate executives are not subject an income tax in the manner that LLC owners or partnerships now are, thanks to the LLC tax hitting a significant portion of an owner's salary. People who claim the LLC tax simply closes a loophole believe the owner’s salary is actually a dividend. Try telling that to a business owner working 18 hour days to keep the doors open, keep people employed and meet payroll every week. The other 6 hours the business owner is probably awake ….worrying about what cockeyed tax idea will come next from Concord! A full-fledged income tax?
It only gets worse for the business owner. For several years the DRA has conducted hard-hitting audits to determine if business owners pay themselves more than what government officials deem reasonable compensation. Per these aggressive DRA audits, any business owner salary above that bureaucratic definition of reasonable compensation is termed “profit” subject to the 8.5% BPT. Now thanks to the LLC Tax, that same salary will be subject to the 5% I&D Tax. So the effective tax rate for the small business owner is an ungodly 13.5% -- enough to keep business owners sleepless in New Hampshire!
Adding insult to injury, the Democratic Chairwoman of the House Ways and Means Committee has proposed legislation defining reasonable compensation so the 13.5% income tax on business owners kicks in on salary above $50,000 per business entity --an absolute killer if there is more than one owner. And DRA sets all the rules. No wonder business owners are crying foul and everyone concerned about JOBS is aghast at the plummeting business climate in New Hampshire.
What can people do? I have sponsored legislation to repeal the LLC Tax and remove DRA’s authority to determine what business owners can reasonably pay themselves without triggering a hefty tax bill. Those hearings will be held at the State House on February 9th at 10am. It is essential for people to travel to Concord and make their voices heard.
Alternatively Silence Means --- WELCOME TO NEW TAX-SHIRE!
PAID FOR BY FRIENDS OF JEB BRADLEY FOR STATE SENATE, EUGENE LEONE TREASURER
Monday, February 1, 2010
LOCAL SELECTMAN’S RACE GOES PARTISAN!!
The Exeter March Selectman’s race appears to be going partisan. The rumor is the town democrat committee had many discussions about who to get to run for the two vacant seats and came up with Julie Gilman and Don Clement.
On the republican side there are three known candidates running and that is Sandy Winter, Ann Surman and Brian Griset. Since Exeter no longer has a republican town committee there was no anointing of candidates like what the democrats did. Although in the past on one occasion I can think of, the Exeter Town Republican Committee did support two candidates for selectman to beat back a liberal socialist attempt to get some of their people elected. Even back then the towns, people knew the dangers of having liberals in charge of spending your taxes.
At one point the Exeter Board of Selectman were all republicans, fiscal conservatives with common sense, not at all what it is like right now. I think when you have 7 people running for two spots on the board you can draw the conclusion that the socialists are making an attempt at taking over, or, the taxpayers think the board is not doing a good job. There is a rumor that two members of the board are trying to take control of the board and push their social agenda and spending policies.
It will also give them a platform to promote liberal socialist candidates for state rep and state senator. Which they have right now; but, it is suspected they will lose in the next election.
The progressives (liberal socialists) control D.C and we have out of control spending and deficits that our kids will not live long enough to pay off.
We have progressives running the state and in two budgets have increased the budgets by almost 2 billion dollars. The state is facing over a 600 million $ deficit because of the out of control spending and there is no apparent answers to fix it in the short term. What they are doing is panicking and trying to levy more taxes on everything that walks, runs, moves and stands still. Hence the LLC fiasco, the campground fiasco, the state employee fiasco, the retired state employee fiasco, the disabled state employee fiasco and the list goes on.
In fact the dingys that are running Concord are panic stricken over the backlash on what they have done they are trying to carve out some LLC’s from this new income tax they have levied until after the next election, then they will hit anyone they carved out to get taxed.
If you want Exeter to be run the same way DC and Concord are run, vote liberal/progressive. They are so worried about losing power they are denying they are liberal. If you are ashamed of your political philosophy then you should not subscribe to it.
If you want higher taxes and continued promotion of programs to make Exeter the hub of the progressive agenda, vote for progressive democrats AND BE PREPARED TO PAY FOR IT.
There is a movement underway in this country that decries this stupidity and progressive/socialism and that desire for freedom from this kind of politics is growing into something that still may save the day.
IT IS YOUR FUTURE, IT IS YOU KIDS FUTURE, AND IT IS OUR FUTURE TOGETHER.
On the republican side there are three known candidates running and that is Sandy Winter, Ann Surman and Brian Griset. Since Exeter no longer has a republican town committee there was no anointing of candidates like what the democrats did. Although in the past on one occasion I can think of, the Exeter Town Republican Committee did support two candidates for selectman to beat back a liberal socialist attempt to get some of their people elected. Even back then the towns, people knew the dangers of having liberals in charge of spending your taxes.
At one point the Exeter Board of Selectman were all republicans, fiscal conservatives with common sense, not at all what it is like right now. I think when you have 7 people running for two spots on the board you can draw the conclusion that the socialists are making an attempt at taking over, or, the taxpayers think the board is not doing a good job. There is a rumor that two members of the board are trying to take control of the board and push their social agenda and spending policies.
It will also give them a platform to promote liberal socialist candidates for state rep and state senator. Which they have right now; but, it is suspected they will lose in the next election.
The progressives (liberal socialists) control D.C and we have out of control spending and deficits that our kids will not live long enough to pay off.
We have progressives running the state and in two budgets have increased the budgets by almost 2 billion dollars. The state is facing over a 600 million $ deficit because of the out of control spending and there is no apparent answers to fix it in the short term. What they are doing is panicking and trying to levy more taxes on everything that walks, runs, moves and stands still. Hence the LLC fiasco, the campground fiasco, the state employee fiasco, the retired state employee fiasco, the disabled state employee fiasco and the list goes on.
In fact the dingys that are running Concord are panic stricken over the backlash on what they have done they are trying to carve out some LLC’s from this new income tax they have levied until after the next election, then they will hit anyone they carved out to get taxed.
If you want Exeter to be run the same way DC and Concord are run, vote liberal/progressive. They are so worried about losing power they are denying they are liberal. If you are ashamed of your political philosophy then you should not subscribe to it.
If you want higher taxes and continued promotion of programs to make Exeter the hub of the progressive agenda, vote for progressive democrats AND BE PREPARED TO PAY FOR IT.
There is a movement underway in this country that decries this stupidity and progressive/socialism and that desire for freedom from this kind of politics is growing into something that still may save the day.
IT IS YOUR FUTURE, IT IS YOU KIDS FUTURE, AND IT IS OUR FUTURE TOGETHER.
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