CONCORD, NH – New Hampshire officials didn’t take kindly to Massachusetts approving a final rule that imposes Massachusetts’ income tax on New Hampshire residents who are working from home for Massachusetts companies.
And the press releases started flying showing there is at least one bipartisan issue that both parties can get behind. Republicans called in an “out-of-state money grab” and Democrats an “outrageous cash grab.”
Republican Gov. Chris Sununu directed Attorney General Gordon MacDonald on Friday to file a lawsuit Monday in the U.S. Supreme Court to fight it.
“The Commonwealth has launched a direct attack on the New Hampshire Advantage, attempting to pick the pockets of our citizens. We are going to fight this unconstitutional attempt to tax our citizens every step of the way, and we are going to win,” Sununu said.
Sununu spoke out against the proposal during the summer and asked the Attorney General’s Office to review it. Sununu said despite those findings and the “overwhelming opposition expressed at the proposed rule’s public hearing, Massachusetts has made the decision to approve the rule and continue to confiscate income from Granite Staters during a global pandemic.”
A copy of the final rule can be found here.
The state senator running against Sununu, Dan Feltes, D-Concord, agrees.
“It is completely unfair to charge New Hampshire workers the Massachusetts income tax while they are not working in Massachusetts,” Feltes said. “These workers are acting in everyone’s best interest when it comes to public health and safety and should not be penalized for their actions.”
Nearly 100,000 Granite Staters commute to Massachusetts for work, according to a February report from the New Hampshire Department of Employment Security.
U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, D-NH, is leading legislation in the U.S. House to protect residents from paying income tax to Massachusetts while working in New Hampshire, according to a news release Friday.
“This rule change by Massachusetts extends an outrageous cash grab targeting Granite Staters who are doing their part to stay home and stay safe during a pandemic,” Pappas said.
“Legislation I am leading, the Multi-State Workers Tax Fairness Act, eliminates overly complex and unfair multi-state tax codes and ensures that employees will only be subject to the tax laws of their state when they telework,” continued Pappas.
House Republican Leader Dick Hinch, R-Merrimack, said, “For the last two years, we have been fighting against New Hampshire Democrats’ proposals to institute a state income tax here in New Hampshire.”
“Now we are pushing back against another state’s assault on New Hampshire’s growing work-from-home population. Let us be clear. The New Hampshire Advantage should be defended from all enemies – both in-state, and out of state.”
“As we all know, taxation is theft, and Massachusetts is choosing to engage in cross-border theft to fund their historically big government spending problems,” Hinch said.
