Sunday, April 10, 2011

How does New Hampshire do it?

New Hampshire is noted for its state liquor stores and no personal income tax. Yet they also have the highest property tax in New England. You have probably been part of a discussion on the pros and cons of what they do versus other states.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston has just published their analysis with interesting results. New Hampshire is able to do what it does "in part because of favorable circumstances. States with needier populations or higher costs will likely spend more to provide the same level of services." The report shows ways in which MA and other New England states have needier populations and higher costs.

The report acknowledges that New Hampshire "has also made some policy choices to keep spending low and avoid broad based taxes." So can we do what they did? The report goes on to say that "some choices may be infeasible in the current environment or inappropriate in states with different preferences for public services."

So the bottom line works out to be, if you like MA stay here. If you think you like NH and the way they do things, go there. How NH does what they do doesn't translate well to other states.


FedResBkBoston_neppcrr1101-nhbriefing


This is the report summary. You can find the full report and accompanying tables of supporting figures on the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston website: http://www.bostonfed.org/news/press/2011/pr040711.htm

Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view the document.

Franklin, MA

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