(This article first appeared at JBartlett.org)

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 taxes.

New Hampshire ranked No. 1 on sales taxes, 12 on individual income taxes, 27 on unemployment insurance taxes, 32 on corporate taxes and 39 on property taxes.

That was good enough to place New Hampshire sixth overall, behind perennial top-five states Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska, Florida, and Montana.

Texas, previously in the sixth spot, fell to seventh, with New Hampshire edging up one spot by a fraction of a point.

(The foundation applied its new methodology to previous studies going back to 2020 so states could compare their progress.)

Texas ranked No. 1 on individual income taxes, but was in the bottom half on all other taxes. New Hampshire’s only personal income tax—the Interest & Dividends Tax—is scheduled to expire at the end of this year.

Wyoming and South Dakota, the top two states for years, tied as usual for No. 1 on both corporate and individual income taxes.

Florida (with which New Hampshire competes for residents, workers and retirees) also tied for No. 1 in individual income taxes. It ranked No. 10 in unemployment insurance taxes, 14 in sales taxes, 16 in corporate taxes, and 21 in property taxes.

The Tax Foundation praised New Hampshire lawmakers for voting in 2023 to let businesses fully deduct interest expenses in the year incurred, rather than over time.

“This change, following on the heels of rate reductions to New Hampshire’s two business taxes, helped New Hampshire’s corporate component ranking improve by eight places, from 40th to 32nd,” the report noted.

New Hampshire was dinged for high property and corporate taxes.

The report noted that the Interest & Dividends Tax rate change from 4 percent to 3 percent did not alter this year’s ranking because the state was already so competitive. But eliminating the tax is seen as a positive step.

“New Hampshire will officially join the ranks of the individual income tax-free states once its low-rate interest and dividends (I&D) tax is eliminated in January 2025, further solidifying its competitive standing overall,” according to the report.

To improve New Hampshire’s tax competitiveness, the Tax Foundation recommends “eliminating the I&D tax…adopting permanent full expensing” and improving the state’s treatment of net operating loss carry forward,” all things legislators have tried to address in recent years.

A 33-year-old man was killed in a motorcycle crash in Bedford, New Hampshire, on Wednesday.

State police said they responded to a report of a motorcycle crash on the off-ramp from Raymond Wieczorek Drive onto South River Road in Bedford around 5:09 p.m. Wednesday.

Their preliminary investigation determined that Brandon G. Roy, of Nashua, was riding a 2020 Honda motorcycle on the off-ramp when he failed to negotiate a right-hand turn, lost control of the bike and crashed. The off-ramp was closed while the Bedford Fire Department attempted to provide life-saving measures. He was taken by ambulance to Elliot Hospital in Manchester, where he was pronounced dead.

The off-ramp reopened around 7:30 p.m. after state police completed their on-scene investigation. They were assisted by Bedford police and fire and the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.

The crash remains under investigation, and anyone with information is asked to contact Trooper Noah Brown at 603-223-4381 or noah.c.brown@dos.nh.gov.

Police shot and killed a man following an hourslong standoff at a historic bed and breakfast in New Hampshire’s White Mountains region early Thursday morning.

The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office said in a 3 a.m. press release that they were responding to a report of a fatal police shooting that occurred early Thursday morning in Plymouth. They said an adult male was fatally shot at the Federal House Inn on Route 25.

The identity of the person who was shot is being withheld pending notification of family, the attorney general’s office said. An autopsy will be conducted by the chief medical examiner’s office.

The attorney general’s office said police responded to the area following a disturbance call at the inn on Wednesday afternoon. When they arrived, they found a man armed and barricaded inside.

No law enforcement officers were injured in the incident, according to authorities.

The name of the officers involved in the shooting and what agencies they were associated with have not been released and the exact circumstances remain under active investigation, the attorney general’s office said.

Plymouth police said in a Facebook post around 9 p.m. Wednesday that they responded around 2:40 p.m. to a report of shots fired with injury in the area of Route 25 and the traffic circle. They said the nearby Mountain Village Charter School and numerous surrounding businesses were placed in lockdown as a precaution, and all children have since been reunited with their families.

In a follow-up post at 3:50 a.m. Thursday, the department added that Route 25 from the traffic circle to Hawkenson Drive in Rumney remains closed. Motorists are urged to seek an alternate route.

New Hampshire State Police had provided several updates on the incident on social media on Wednesday night.

Their first post around 4 p.m. Wednesday said that state police troopers had responded to reports of shots fired and a barricaded subject on Route 25 in Plymouth near the traffic circle. They said the subject was contained and there was no threat to public safety.

Troopers have responded to reports of shots fired and a barricaded subject on Route 25 in the area of the Plymouth traffic circle. The subject is contained and there is no imminent threat to public safety. Please avoid the area. Additional updates to follow. pic.twitter.com/l6bMquvaJ0

— New Hampshire State Police (@NH_StatePolice) November 6, 2024

In subsequent posts later in the evening, state police said the situation was “active and ongoing” and the road remained closed.