New Hampshire’s budget crisis isn’t the result of an economic downturn or unexpected calamity—it’s the foreseeable outcome of deliberate policy choices. Chief among them: a decade of business tax cuts that have drained state revenues without delivering the promised economic boom.
We were told that cutting the Business Profits Tax (BPT) and Business Enterprise Tax (BET) would attract businesses, grow the economy, and create jobs. What we got instead is an underfunded university system, strained schools and counties, struggling low- and moderate-income residents, and towns forced to absorb the cost of the state’s growing disinvestment.
Since 2015, reductions in BPT and BET rates have cost New Hampshire between $795 million and $1.17 billion in forgone revenue, according to the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute. And yet, the return on that investment has been negligible.
Let’s look at the facts:
Slower Revenue Growth: From 2015 to 2023, NH business tax revenues grew 124%. In that same period, Maine and Vermont—states that kept corporate tax rates stable—saw 167% and 166% growth, respectively. Nationally, the increase was 192%, and among New England states (excluding NH), 172%.
Minimal Economic Impact: Each dollar spent on business tax cuts generates only 34 cents in economic activity. In contrast, food assistance yields $1.61, and federal aid to states and municipalities brings in $1.34 per dollar.
No Jobs Boom: NHFPI analysis shows no statistical link between BPT cuts and job creation. Large corporations—especially multinationals, which make up 60% of BPT revenue—benefit most. Local communities and families are left to absorb the consequences of reduced state investment.
Now, with the New Hampshire House finalizing a two-year budget, proposed cuts reflect the painful consequences of this shortfall. These aren’t just belt-tightening measures—they’re deep, structural wounds.
Among the most damaging proposals is a 33% cut in state aid to the University System of New Hampshire (USNH)—a staggering $50 million reduction. Already the least-funded public university system in the nation, USNH plays a vital role in our state’s economic engine. The flagship campus, UNH, generates $1.3 billion in economic output annually, supports nearly 9,000 jobs, and contributes over $74 million in state and local tax revenue. UNH alumni alone pump another $1.1 billion into the economy through wages and spending.
But these numbers don’t fully capture what’s at stake. As an R1 research university, UNH attracts $260 million in federal funding each year, tackles critical issues like PFAS contamination and space innovation, and sustains over 2,300 jobs. It’s a lifeline to 15,000 students—19% of whom are first-generation college attendees—many of whom stay and contribute to our workforce after graduation. Undermining this system now is like a farmer selling her tractor to save on fuel: short-sighted and counterproductive.
The proposed budget also freezes Rooms and Meals Tax distributions to municipalities at $137 million per year. This amounts to a de facto $11 million cut over two years. For towns like Durham, Concord, Plymouth, Manchester, Nashua, Lebanon, Derry, and Salem it means raising property taxes or cutting services—another example of the state offloading its responsibilities onto local governments and local taxpayers.
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We need solutions rooted in pragmatism, not ideology. Here are two steps lawmakers should take now:
Restore Business Tax Rates: Reinstating pre-2015 BPT and BET rates could generate up to $1 billion in revenue—funds that could stabilize USNH, restore municipal aid, and support key services like Medicaid expansion and the arts.
Pause New Spending: Delay all new programs and initiatives unless they demonstrate clear cost savings, improved efficiencies, or long-term economic benefit. The Governor’s Commission on Efficiency (COVE) could play a leading role in identifying these opportunities.
New Hampshire residents pride themselves on common-sense decision-making. We invest in what works, fix what’s broken, and pivot when policies fall short. The business tax cuts have not delivered. Clinging to them out of political convenience only prolongs the damage.
This budget crisis is not inevitable. It’s the direct result of legislative choices made over the last decade. Lawmakers must now choose differently—for the sake of our communities, our students, and our shared future.
About the author: Originally from Laconia, Todd Selig is the longtime Town Manager in Durham, where he lives with his family.
WILTON, N.H. (WHDH) – A woman died in a Wilton, New Hampshire, house fire Wednesday morning, according to the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office.
At 9:08 a.m., Wilton firefighters responded to Burns Hill Road after a caller said their home was filling up with smoke. When they arrived, a single-family home was on fire and they found out two people were still inside on the second floor.
A man and a woman were both taken out of the house by firefighters and taken to Elliott Hospital. The woman was pronounced dead and the man is in serious condition.
Officials have not released the name of the victim at this time.
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At this time, investigators are looking into the cause of the fire and are trying to determine if a power outage in the area played a factor. The fire is not currently considered suspicious.
(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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Diane Durgin, 67, is accused of shooting at a Black man who inadvertently drove to her property after a prearranged truck part sale, prosecutors said.
A New Hampshire woman is accused of violating the state’s Civil Rights Act four times after she allegedly shot at a man because he was Black, prosecutors said.
Diane Durgin, 67, of Weare, N.H. could face up to a $5,000 fine for each violation she is found to have committed, the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a press release Tuesday.
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Durgin is also charged with criminal threatening against a person with a deadly weapon and attempted first degree assault with a deadly weapon, Michael Garrity, a media representative for the New Hampshire Attorney General, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.
Durgin had a final pre-trial conference last week, Garrity said.
In a civil complaint filed Tuesday, Durgin is accused of threatening physical force against the victim, the AG said. Prosecutors asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring Durgin from repeating her alleged behavior and from contacting the victim and his family.
During the morning hours of Oct. 20, 2024, the victim claims, he “mistakenly” drove to Durgin’s home after a prearranged purchase of a truck part with a seller online, prosecutors wrote as part of their request for an injunction.
When the man — whom prosecutors identified in court documents as X.G. — arrived, Durgin allegedly stepped out of her home and approached his car with a gun “holstered by her waist,” prosecutors wrote.
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Upon noticing that X.G. was Black, Durgin allegedly “removed her gun and pointed it at X.G.,” prosecutors said in the injunction request.
While X.G. explained that he was lost, Durgin called the victim a “Black mother[expletive],” and threatened to “kill him,” prosecutors allege.
As the victim attempted to drive away, Durgin allegedly took her gun and fired two shots at the fleeing man’s car, missing both times, the AG’s office said.
While on the phone with a dispatcher, Durgin allegedly said she shot the man’s car because the victim is Black, the AG said.
“The guy is Black. And he, he…he says he’s meeting someone here and I think he’s coming here to steal,” Durgin allegedly said.
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Police located X.G. and brought him to the Weare Police Department, stopping along the way at the correct seller’s home to complete the truck part purchase, prosecutors wrote in court documents.
To prove a violation of the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act, the AG must show that Durgin “interfered or attempted to interfere with the rights of the victim to engage in lawful activities by threatening to engage in or actually engage in physical force or violence, when such actual or threatening conduct was motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability,” prosecutors said.
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The streets of Portsmouth are still in the process of being cleaned up, as seen the afternoon of Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, following a huge snow storm.
It may be March, but winter in New Hampshire is far from over. Just one week after a blizzard tore through the state with heavy snow and high winds, the state is getting another round of snowfall.
The state will get three to five inches during the evening and night of Tuesday, March 3, says the National Weather Service (NWS) of Gray, Maine. While the accumulation will not be significant, the snowfall may cause dangerous road conditions and a layer of ice on the ground in certain parts of the state.
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Here’s what to know before tonight’s snow in New Hampshire, including snow totals and timing.
When will it snow in NH tonight?
According to the NWS, it will start snowing in New Hampshire during mid-afternoon or early evening and continue through the night. Specifically, snow will arrive to the southern part of the state around 2-3 p.m., spreading northwards through the rest of New Hampshire by 5 p.m.
Rain or freezing rain will mix in later this evening across southern New Hampshire, creating a wintry mix. All precipitation should move out of the state by midnight.
Due to the timing of today’s snowfall, the Tuesday evening commute will be affected, with the NWS warning to slow down and exercise caution while driving.
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Warmer weather: It may not look like it now, but spring is on its way: Nature News
How much snow will NH get tonight?
New Hampshire will get one to four inches of snow tonight, with one to two inches in northern New Hampshire, two to three inches in southern New Hampshire and three to four inches in the center of the state, with the possibility for five inches in localized areas.
In the Seacoast specifically, Portsmouth, Rye, Hampton and York are expected to get between two to three inches of snow, while Dover, Exeter and Rochester may get up to four.
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The wintry mix may also cause a light glaze of ice across southern New Hampshire.
Blizzard snowfall totals: Latest snowfall total from New Hampshire, Maine after blizzard
NH weather watches and warnings
The NWS has issued a winter weather advisory for the state of New Hampshire, in effect from 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3 through 4 a.m. on Wednesday, March 4.
