As a business owner, I am disappointed in Gov. Chris Sununu’s veto of the state’s budget. 
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The budget passed by the Legislature provided more than $200 million in property tax relief. It ramped up job training and workforce development initiatives to attract and retain a skilled workforce and meet the skills gap. It invested in affordable and workforce housing, so needed for a reliable workforce. And it meaningfully dealt with our mental health crisis and our opioid epidemic, which is devastating the health of our workforce and our economy. In my view, this was a pro-business budget.

The budget that the Legislature submitted to Sununu would have, among other things, improved staffing for child protective services, increased job training, addressed the crisis in emergency mental health services and helped relieve the crushing impact of education funding on local communities. Rather than working with the Legislature to create a budget that meets the needs of Granite Staters, the governor has sided with big business and demanded continued corporate tax cuts. The primary beneficiaries of Sununu’s tax breaks are out-of-state corporations.

Gov. Sununu did not weigh the consequences of his veto for the people of New Hampshire. His veto hurts all the people – those struggling with health challenges, families in crisis, school districts with inadequate resources, state revenue sharing funds going to cities and towns (for the first time in a decade), people trying to keep up with property tax payments.

The governor’s veto hurts businesses. Businesses will not get the reforms they wanted and received in the vetoed budget. These reforms conformed state tax laws with the federal tax code and prevented double taxation on services performed in New Hampshire for out-of-state clients.
The governor is not working for the people but for himself, hoping to build a record to propel himself into federal office. No thanks, governor. Do your job for all New Hampshire people.