On Jan. 24, I finally received my copy of the Dec. 30 Eagle Times in which Sam Killay acknowledged and thanked me for my support.
I also thoroughly enjoyed his explanation and historical reference to Roger Williams, who was expelled from Massachusetts Bay Colony for befriending the Indians and for his farsighted ideas of separation of church and state. Williams later met Anne Hutchinson, who was likewise banished from Massachusetts for advocating that women read the Bible and interpret it for themselves. Both people were ahead of their times.
In recent years, I became a member of the Unitarian Church of Long Beach and attended a Jan. 21, 2018 service in which the minister educated the audience about Torda 450: A Celebration of Religious Freedom in 1568. The Edict at Torda, which is now part of Romania, paved the way not only for religious freedom but also sponsored an earlier separation of church and state in Europe.
I applaud Sam Killay’s continuing letters and his effort to educate townspeople that blind adherence to a tradition needs an ongoing re-evaluation from time to time.
Galen Crandall (letter Jan. 9) finds Mr. Killay’s ideas objectionable because Killay is a fairly new resident in the city. New blood is always needed to bring refreshing views or people can become stagnant. While Mr. Killay may not change many minds about a crèche, his most important contribution is that he is getting people to think. Is that not a worthwhile activity?
Gerald P. Lunderville
Long Beach, Calif.
No mention of Whitney as ‘Citizen of the Year’
On Saturday evening at the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce annual dinner, Don Whitney, who is in his mid-90s and with an institutional memory like no other in Springfield, was honored as “Citizen of the Year.” Neither the Monday issue nor the Tuesday issue carried this story. Yet, on Tuesday there was a humongous colored picture of the Springfield High School taking up most of the front page. What are our citizens’ priorities for news?
Pat Graves
Springfield, Vt.
Rooms, meals tax bill would help businesses
In 1967, New Hampshire enacted a sales tax.
It’s only on prepared meals, room and vehicle rentals. We pay 9 percent which goes into state coffers — well, most of it. Businesses offering the aforementioned retain a 3 percent commission for collecting the tax, record-keeping and sending in by the 15th of the month. I’m told that calculating and submitting takes about 10 minutes. Last year, commissions topped $9M — a lot in a state where we don’t fund priorities because we don’t have the money.
The Federation of Tax Administrators compiled a list of state sales taxes and vendor discounts (commissions) at www.taxadmin.org/assets/docs/Research/Rates/vendors.pdf
This lists information on general sales taxes. Accordingly, New Hampshire is listed as “N/A” with footnote “#11: NH imposes a 9 percent tax on Meals & Rooms with a 3 percent vendor discount.” Twenty-eight states allow vendor discounts, most with caps of $25 to $500 per month. Sixteen states have no discount; every customer dollar goes to the state. All of our New England neighbors are in this no vendor discount group.
Connecticut’s sales tax is 6.35 percent.
Maine’s sales tax is 5.5 percent with prepared food and alcohol at 8 percent.
Massachusetts’ sales tax is 6.25 percent.
Rhode Island’s sales tax is 7 percent.
Vermont’s sales tax is 6 percent with prepared food and lodging at 9 percent and alcohol served in restaurants at 10 percent.
Our 9 percent tax increases credit card swipe fees. Our 20 percent tip increases them more than twice as much. Nationwide, the majority of transactions use credit cards whether vendor discounts are capped or not permitted. Tax or tip, these fees are costs of doing business and thus, deductible.
Should we join our New England neighbors and end the commissions entirely? In the interest of protecting small business and covering the actual costs of filing the Meals & Rooms return, I sponsored HB 1710 capping commissions at $100 per month.
This new revenue will be dedicated to School Building Aid — a program that had helped fund school construction and renovation sorely needed in many communities. The entire cost of these projects now falls on local property taxpayers.
Had HB 1710 been in effect last year, more than $6 million would have been available to address the backlog of projects. The state’s share of these exceeds $200 million and $6 million is a drop in the bucket but it’s a start.
Meals and rooms has been a reliable revenue source and would contribute to School Building Aid year after year.
Unlike the Emergency School Infrastructure Fund — a onetime investment of $18 million to be distributed later this year. Should we have school buildings with conditions requiring emergency action? I wrote this piece to inform the general public about the 3 percent commission and about HB 1710, a bill to reform it. The bill raises neither tax nor fee, only revenue from money customers spend now.
Michael Cahill
state representative
Newfields, Newmarket
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