This month, we travel to the New England region of United States to New Hampshire. Known as the Granite State, it is defined by its quaint towns and large expanses of wilderness.

New Hampshire is a state with some mighty history. In January 1776, it became the first of the British North American Colonies to establish a government independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain’s authority, and it was the first to establish its own constitution. Six months later, it became one of the original 13 states that founded the United States of America, and in June 1788 it was the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, bringing that document into effect.

With some of the largest ski mountains on the East Coast, New Hampshire’s major recreational attractions include skiing, snowmobiling, and other winter sports, hiking and mountaineering, observing the fall foliage, and motor sports at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. New Hampshire is home to Motorcycle Week, a popular motorcycle rally held in Weirs Beach near Laconia in June. The White Mountain National Forest links the Vermont and Maine portions of the Appalachian Trail, and boasts the Mount Washington Auto Road, where visitors may drive to the top of 6,288-foot Mount Washington.

New Hampshire experiences a humid continental climate (in most of the state), with warm, humid summers, and long, cold, snowy winters. Precipitation is fairly evenly distributed all year. The climate of the southeastern portion of the state is moderated by the Atlantic Ocean and averages relatively milder winters, while the northern and interior portions of the state experience colder temperatures and lower humidity.  Winters are cold and snowy throughout the state, and especially severe in the northern and mountainous areas. Average annual snowfall ranges from 60 inches to over 100 inches across the state per year.

Business Climate

The state’s agricultural outputs are dairy products, nursery stock, cattle, apples and eggs. Its industrial outputs are machinery, electric equipment, rubber and plastic products and tourism.

New Hampshire experienced a significant shift in its economic base during the last century. Historically, the base was composed of the traditional New England manufactures of textiles, shoe making, and small machining shops drawing upon low-wage labor from nearby small farms and from parts of Quebec.

The largest and most important sector of the state’s economy is Smart Manufacturing/High Technology (SMHT). New Hampshire’s SMHT sector is mainly known for using high-tech equipment to produce electronic components. Much of the SMHT activity is concentrated along the seacoast and in the upper valley. The Merrimack Valley and Monadnock Region also host a number of manufacturing operations.

The state has traditionally depended on its natural resources and recreational opportunities to draw in out-of-state visitors throughout the year. The seacoast, lakes region and White Mountains are the primary tourist hotspots. While the state keeps careful track of day trippers and overnight guests, a less-studied aspect of the state’s tourism economy is its popularity as a site for second homes. Many of the state’s vacation homes are owned by out-of-staters who visit communities in New Hampshire several weeks or months at a time and pump money into those communities.

The seacoast is a major hug for biomedical research in New Hampshire. And thanks to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, the upper valley has become another center for biotech and other medical research. The state is also home to ten major hospitals.

Tax Climate  

The state has no general sales tax and no personal state income tax. However, the state does tax, at a rate of 5%, income from dividends and interest.

New Hampshire’s lack of a broad-based tax system has resulted in the state’s local communities having some of the nation’s highest property taxes. However, the state’s overall tax burden is relatively low. In 2010, the state ranked 44^th highest among states in combined average state and local tax burden.

The corporate income tax rate is 8.2%.

Other taxes that are of interest to consumers are the gasoline tax and cigarette tax. The state levies a gasoline tax of 23.83 cents per gallon, which ranks 34^th in the nation, and a state cigarette rate of $1.78 per 20-pack, which ranks 19^th in the country.

Tax Incentives and Credits

Businesses in New Hampshire, and those considering moving to New Hampshire, may be able to take advantage of several tax credits. Some of these include:

The New Hampshire Research and Development Act- This tax credit enables businesses to apply for tax credits on new research and development costs they can use toward business taxes paid. The credit can be carried forward for up to five years. For more information on this tax credit, click here.

The New Hampshire Job Training Fund- This fund provides a 50/50 cash match grant $750 to $100,000 for customized training of a company’s employees.  For more information on this fund, click here.

 

Random Facts

• New Hampshire’s state house is the oldest state capitol in which a legislature still meets in its original chambers.
• At 18 miles long, New Hampshire has the shortest ocean shoreline in America.
• The New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a 1.058-mile oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire, which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since the early 1990s, as well as the longest-running motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic.
• The Pierce Manse in Concord is the home of the only New Hampshire citizen ever elected president. Franklin Pierce was a hero of the war with Mexico and the youngest president elected at the time. He was president from 1853-1857.
• Levi Hutchins of Concord invented the first alarm clock in 1787.
• Of the original thirteen colonies, New Hampshire was the first colony to declare its independence from Mother England- a full six months before the Declaration of Independence was signed.
• It is the 5^th smallest state by land area and the 10^th least populous of the 50 states. In 2017, the population of New Hampshire was 1,342,795.

Have a question? Contact Monika Miles. Your comments are always welcome!