Revision: Jan. 27, 2025, 12:18 p.m.
HB 502-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2025 SESSION
25-0519
07/05
HOUSE BILL 502-FN
SPONSORS: Rep. Schamberg, Merr. 6; Rep. Oppel, Graf. 9
COMMITTEE: Ways and Means
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ANALYSIS
This bill:
I. Repeals the water's edge combined group provisions of the business profits tax.
II. Requires the department of revenue administration to receive the revenues from the
state education property tax and deposit them in the education trust fund.
III. Revises the procedures for calculating state education grants.
IV. Modifies the criteria for relief under the low and moderate income homeowners property tax relief program.
V. Establishes a committee to study the low and moderate income homeowners property tax relief program.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
25-0519
07/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Five
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
I. New Hampshire has a unique tax structure. With no general sales tax or income tax and no severance tax on natural resources, New Hampshire relies on its business profits tax (corporate income tax) more than any other state and most countries. During the legislature's 1981 session, the business profits tax law was changed to allow the department of revenue administration or taxpayers to employ the complete corporate reporting method of taxation under the unitary business principle.
II. Before this change, large multi-form corporations were allowed to file their business profits tax returns on a separate accounting/separate entity basis as if unconnected and unrelated to its affiliated sister corporations. This separate method of taxation is inadequate to measure accurately the income of a corporation with non-New Hampshire affiliates and creates a tax disadvantage for smaller New Hampshire corporations which compete with larger multistate and multinational corporations conducting business in New Hampshire.
III. Complete corporate reporting treats a parent corporation and its subsidiaries both in the United States and foreign as if a single taxpayer. The purpose of complete corporate reporting is to counteract the profit shifting that takes place between and among a parent and its subsidiaries operating across state lines and international boundaries. The United States Supreme Court endorsed the unitary business principle in the 1980 decision in Mobil vs Commissioner of Taxes, Vermont and Exxon vs Wisconsin Department of Revenue and, in 1983, approved complete corporate reporting in the decision in Container Corporation vs Franchise Tax Board, California. The United States Supreme Court revisited the complete corporate reporting method in 1994 in the decisions in Barclays Bank PLC vs Franchise Tax Board, California and Colgate-Palmolive vs Franchise Tax Board, California and approved it use for both United States and foreign-based multinational corporations. The Court noted that during the intervening years Congress did not pass any laws to prohibit a state from utilizing the complete corporate reporting method.
IV. Bowing to pressure from the Reagan Administration, multinational corporations, foreign countries, especially Great Britain, and the New Hampshire governor, the legislature in 1986 changed the business profits tax law to restrict state’s ability to employ the worldwide unitary method of taxation and, in it’s place, adopt the water’s edge unitary method which excludes the profits and operations of foreign members of a unitary group. In other words, a multinational corporation is separated into two distinct pieces: one operating in the United States and another operating outside the United States and treated as unrelated separate taxable entities. In hindsight and with reports of massive profit shifting to foreign subsidiaries in foreign tax havens over the intervening years, the 1986 change to the business profits tax was a mistake and should be reversed. In hindsight, the water’s edge method defeats the purpose of unitary combined reporting. The water’s edge method promotes tax havens like Bermuda and Luxembourg and encourages the shifting of profits from the United States to foreign tax havens.
V. Compounding this mistake is the unintended consequence of the water's edge method that grants a tax advantage to foreign based corporations with United States subsidiaries operating in New Hampshire. Their United States subsidiaries have been allowed to file their business profits tax returns on a separate accounting/separate entity basis under the water's edge method. The federal General Accountability Office (GAO) and a United States Senate committee on governmental affairs have reported that as high as 72 foreign based corporations that do business in the United States have paid zero federal income tax. This creates a tax disadvantage for United States-based corporations big and small. It is the intent of this act to treat all corporations conducting a unitary business fairly and equally no matter how big no matter where the headquarters are located.
VI. In addition, a return to the unitary worldwide method will counteract the negative effects of the territorial taxation system that was adopted in the 2017 Federal Tax Cut and Jobs Act. The territorial system is more or less the separate accounting/separate entity method that is inadequate to measure accurately the income of a corporation with non-New Hampshire affiliates.
VII. It is the intent of the return to complete corporate reporting to provide substantial property tax relief by restoring the competitive balance between domestic companies and multinational enterprises and dedicating any additional revenue to the education trust fund.
2 Taxation; Apportionment, Assessment and Abatement of Taxes; Commissioner's Warrant. Amend RSA 76:8, II to read as follows:
II. The commissioner shall issue a warrant under the commissioner's hand and official seal for the amount computed in paragraph I to the selectmen or assessors of each municipality by December 15 directing them to assess such sum and [pay it to the municipality for the use of the school district or districts], after subtracting 3 percent as compensation for the municipality's cost carrying out the functions required by this section, pay the remainder to the department of revenue administration for deposit in the education trust fund. Such payments by municipalities, and the 3 percent subtractions, shall be made in accordance with schedules, standards, and procedures established by rules adopted by the department of revenue administration after consultation with the commissioner of the department of education. Such sums shall be assessed at such times as may be prescribed for other taxes assessed by such selectmen or assessors of the municipality.
3 Taxation; Apportionment, Assessment and Abatement of Taxes; Commissioner's Warrant. Amend RSA 76:11-a, II to read as follows:
II. The tax bill shall also contain a statement informing the taxpayer of the types of tax relief for which the taxpayer has the right to apply. The statement shall explicitly list the low and moderate income homeowners property tax relief program specified by RSA 198:57 and shall include information on how to apply for the program. The following statement shall be considered adequate:
"If you are elderly, disabled, blind, a veteran, or veteran's spouse, or are unable to pay taxes due to poverty or other good cause, you may be eligible for a tax exemption, credit, abatement, or deferral, which can reduce your current property tax bill. For details and application information, contact (insert title of local assessing officials or office to which application should be made and deadline for application). Depending on your income, you may also be eligible for a refund of some of your taxes under the low and moderate income homeowners property tax relief program. To find out how to get a refund, call the New Hampshire department of revenue administration at (insert current telephone number here) or visit the department's website (insert current website address here). Applications for refunds are due by June 30." This statement shall be prominent, [and] legible, printed in at least 12-point boldface type, and may either be printed on the tax bill itself, or on a separate sheet of paper enclosed with the tax bill. A municipality may in its discretion choose to include more detailed information about the eligibility criteria for different forms of tax relief, provided, however, that the information in the above statement shall be considered a minimum.
4 Definition; Gross Business Profits. Amend RSA 77-A:1, III(f) to read as follows:
(f) In the case of any business organization which is part of a [water's edge combined group] unitary business with combined net income and which does not make or file a United States income tax return or schedule under subparagraphs (a)-(d), the amount of net income as would be determinable under the provisions of the United States Internal Revenue Code as defined in RSA 77-A:1, XX and applied within the concepts of RSA 77-A for such business organizations.
5 Definition; Combined Net Income. Amend RSA 77-A:1, XIII to read as follows:
XIII. "Combined net income" means the revenues less expenses as would be determinable under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code as defined in RSA 77-A:1, XX and applied within the concepts of RSA 77-A for all business organizations conducting a unitary business regardless of whether such business organizations are required to file a federal income tax return. This provision shall authorize the application of complete corporate reporting.
6 Definition; Foreign Dividend. Amend RSA 77-A:1, XVII to read as follows:
XVII. "Foreign dividends" as used in RSA 77-A:3, II means dividends from overseas business organizations. [For purposes of RSA 77-A:3, II(b), actual distributions from partnerships, limited liability companies, and "S" corporations are dividends for purposes of this definition.]
7 Education; School Money; Education Trust Fund Created and Invested. Amend RSA 198:39, II(k) to read as follows:
(k) The full amount of education property tax payments from the department of revenue administration pursuant to RSA 76:8, II.
(l) Any other moneys appropriated from the general fund.
8 Education; School Money; Low and Moderate Income Homeowners Property Tax Relief. Amend RSA 198:57, III-IV to read as follows:
III. An eligible tax relief claimant is a person who:
(a) Owns a homestead or interest in a homestead subject to the education tax;
(b) Resided in such homestead on [April 1 of] the date of the final tax bill as defined in RSA 76:1-a for the year for which the claim is made, except such persons as are on active duty in the United States armed forces or are temporarily away from such homestead but maintain the homestead as a primary domicile; and
(c) Realizes total household income of:
(1) [$37,000] $75,000 or less if a single person;
(2) [$47,000] $90,000 or less if a married person or head of a New Hampshire household.
IV. All or a portion of an eligible tax relief claimant's [state] education property taxes[, RSA 76:3,] shall be rebated as follows:
(a) Multiply the total local assessed value of the claimant's property by the percentage of such property that qualifies as the claimant's homestead;
(b) Multiply [$220,000] $165,000 by the most current local equalization ratio as determined by the department of revenue administration;
(c) Multiply the lesser of the amount determined in subparagraph (a) or (b) by the [education tax rate as shown on the tax bill under RSA 76:11-a] sum of the following;
(1) The local education tax rate as shown on the tax bill under RSA 76:11 and;
(2) The state education tax rate as shown on the tax bill under RSA 76:11.
(d) Multiply the product of the calculation in subparagraph (c) by the following percentage as applicable to determine the amount of tax relief available to the claimant, provided that the maximum amount of tax relief available to any claimant in any fiscal year shall not exceed $1,100:
(1) If a single person and total household income is:
(A) less than [$23,100] $25,000, 100 percent;
(B) [$23,100] $25,000 but less than [$27,800, 60 percent] $65,000, a
percentage that is reduced by 5 percent for each $2,000 of household income above $25,000;
(C) [$27,800 but less than $32,400, 40 percent; or] more than $65,000, zero percent.
[(D) $32,400 but less than or equal to $37,000, 20 percent.]
(2) If a head of a New Hampshire household or a married person and total household income is:
(A) less than [$29,400] $37,500, 100 percent;
(B) [$29,400] $37,500 but less than [$35,300, 60 percent] $77,500, a percentage that is reduced by 5 percent for each $2,000 of household income above $37,500;
(C) [$35,300 but less than $41,100, 40 percent; or] more than $77,500, zero percent.
[(D) $41,100 but less than or equal to $47,000, 20 percent.]
(e) The amount determined by subparagraph (d) is the allowable tax relief in any year, provided however that the aggregate of tax relief checks issued by the commissioner to all taxpayers claiming eligibility for tax relief shall not exceed $30,000,000 for the fiscal year to which the claim applies, exclusive of late filed claims which are accepted by the commissioner pursuant to paragraph VI(b) which shall be counted against the $30,000,000 limit for the fiscal year in which the claims are received, and that the commissioner shall reduce proportionally the amount of each taxpayer's tax relief check for that fiscal year when a reduction is necessary to conform to the $30,000,000 limit for that fiscal year.
9 New Paragraphs; Low and Moderate Income Homeowners Property Tax Relief; Adjustment for Inflation; Forms. Amend RSA 198:57 by inserting after paragraph VIII the following new paragraphs:
IX. The amounts specified in subparagraph III(c), IV(b), IV(d), and IV(e) shall be adjusted annually for inflation and rounded to the nearest $100 by the commissioner of the department of revenue administration based on the average change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, Northeast Region as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor. The average change shall be calculated using the calendar year ending 12-months prior to the beginning of the program year.
X. Each year, on or about May 1, the department of revenue administration shall mail the current year forms necessary to apply for property tax relief to each homeowner who received property tax relief under the provisions of paragraph IV in the prior year.
10 Committee Established. There is established a committee to study the low and moderate income homeowners property tax relief program authorized by RSA 198:57-58.
I. The members of the committee shall be as follows:
(a) Four members of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
(b) Three members of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate.
II. Members of the committee shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to the duties of the committee.
III. The committee shall study, with the assistance of the commissioner of the department of revenue administration:
(a) Issues relating to the extension of the low and moderate income homeowners property tax relief program to tenants who indirectly pay education property taxes as part of the rent that they pay for the right to live in their principal place of residence and domicile and shall make recommendations regarding said extension;
(b) The relationship between household income, property values, and property taxation, as well as the sufficiency of data relating to that relationship that is currently available to the department of revenue administration, including data needed to determine the impact of property tax changes by property classification, value, and ownership status, including owner-occupied, out-of-state, commercial, residential, or other relevant ownership categories, and shall report on its findings and recommendations on said relationship, data sufficiency, and changes in assessment data collected, eligibility, and funding levels that would improve the low and moderate income homeowners property tax relief program.
(c) The components of a statewide property tax deferral program designed to provide relief to homeowner property taxpayers where taxpayer-specific circumstances temporarily impair such taxpayers ability to timely pay their property tax bills, and shall make recommendations regarding the development of such a program.
(d) The committee may solicit input or testimony from any person or organization the committee deems relevant to the study.
IV. The members of the study committee shall elect a chairperson from among the members. The first meeting of the committee shall be called by the first-named house member. The first meeting of the committee shall be held within 45 days of the effective date of this section. Four members of the committee shall constitute a quorum.
V. The committee shall report its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation to the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, the house clerk, the senate clerk, the governor, and the state library on or before November 1, 2025.
11 Repeals. Water's Edge Combined Reporting for Business Profits Taxation. The following are repealed:
I. RSA 77-A:1, XV, relative to the definition of water's edge combined group.
II. RSA 77-A:1, XVI, relative to the definition of water's edge method.
III. RSA 77-A:1, XVIII, relative to the definition of foreign property, payroll and sales.
IV. RSA 77-A:2-b, relative to conditions for employment of only water's edge combinations.
V. RSA 77-A:3, II(b), relative to apportionment for a combined water's edge group.
VI. RSA 77-A:6, IV, relative to returns for water's edge combined group reporting.
VII. RSA 198:41, I(b), relative to deducting the state education tax warrant.
12 Application. The provisions of this act shall apply for taxable periods beginning after December 31, 2025.
I. Section 10 of this act shall take effect upon its passage.
II. This remainder of this act shall take effect January 1, 2026.
25-0519
Revised 1/27/25
HB 502-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
FISCAL IMPACT: This bill does not provide funding, nor does it authorize new positions.
Estimated State Impact | ||||
| FY 2025 | FY 2026 | FY 2027 | FY 2028 |
Revenue |
$0 | Complete Corporate Reporting:Indeterminable Impact on GF and ETF/ SWEPT: $10.9 million ETF Decrease in FY 27 and FY 28 | ||
Revenue Fund(s) | General Fund and Education Trust Fund | |||
Expenditures* |
$0 |
$1,464,000 |
$1,263,000 | GF:$1.320.000 ETF: Indeterminable Increase from L&M Expansion |
Funding Source(s) | General Fund and Education Trust Fund | |||
Appropriations* | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Funding Source(s) | None | |||
*Expenditure = Cost of bill *Appropriation = Authorized funding to cover cost of bill
This bill changes the water’s edge method of taxation for unitary business groups under the Business Profits Tax (BPT) to complete corporate reporting for taxable periods beginning after December 31, 2025. The bill also requires the full statewide education property tax (SWEPT), less a 3% municipal processing fee, be remitted back to the State. The bill makes changes to the Low and Moderate Income Homeowners Property Tax Relief program to permit rebate of local as well as statewide property education tax; to raise household income limits on eligibility; to lower the property value factor used for the rebate calculation; to adjust the income brackets used for the rebate calculation; and to set annual per-claimant and aggregate caps on payments.
Complete Corporate Reporting
A unitary business group under complete corporate reporting, unlike a “water’s edge combined group,” includes foreign incorporated business organizations and so-called “80/20 companies”
with 80% or more of the average of their payroll and property outside the United States. Such an overseas business organization is still subject to BPT under the water’s edge method as a separate entity, provided that the business organization by itself is engaged in business activity in New Hampshire.
This change will have an indeterminable fiscal impact on General Fund and Education Trust Fund revenue. The Department of Revenue Administration cannot estimate the BPT liability for a unitary business group under worldwide combined reporting because it does not know their combined net income, the additions and deductions provided in RSA 77-A:4 for members of the group, or the group’s apportionment percentage as provided in RSA 77-A:3. With a water’s edge system of taxation, the BPT is still imposed on foreign dividends paid by foreign subsidiaries to United States parent companies, and for taxable periods beginning on or after January 1, 2020, on global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI). It also applies to any overseas business organization that by itself is engaged in business activity in New Hampshire, but as a separate entity. There would be “winners and losers” depending on the proposed legislation’s effects on the tax base and apportionment.
Additionally, moving to complete corporate reporting may create practical constraints for the Department including obtaining access to the books and records of foreign parent companies, converting foreign currency-denominated assets into their dollar equivalent, and determining taxable business profits without starting from federal taxable income (because under the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the United State moved to a more territorial or water’s edge system of taxation).
The Department notes that it will need to develop an auditing program for foreign businesses. It is estimated this auditing program would require the establishment of 3 auditor positions, require contracted services for foreign language and foreign tax expertise, and require travel. The table below shows the estimated costs:
| FY 2026 | FY 2027 | FY 2028 |
Auditor Salary and Benefits (Unclassified DD positions) * 3 positions | $339,000 | $363,000 | $381,000 |
Travel Costs | $75,000 | $112,500 | $112,500 |
Contracted Services (increased 5% each year) | $750,000 | $787,500 | $826,875 |
Total | $1,164,000 | $1,263,000 | $1,320,375 |
Education Funding
Municipalities collect the approximate $363 million of SWEPT and retain the SWEPT locally to fund the State’s portion of education funding. Although, the SWEPT is locally retained, the total amount of SWEPT collected by the municipalities is still recognized by the State as revenue to the Education Trust Fund (ETF). This bill proposes that the entire amount of SWEPT, less the 3% municipal fee, be remitted back to the State. The municipal fee would result in a $10.9 million decrease in the amount of SWEPT remitted back to the State for deposit into the ETF. The Department assumes this change would first impact property taxes assessed on April 1, 2026, and collected via the final property tax bill in the fall of 2026. The proposed legislation would therefore begin impacting ETF revenue in FY 2027.
The bill would result in the full education grant to municipalities being awarded for all municipalities with no reduction for SWEPT collected. However, because the SWEPT revenue is being deposited directly into the ETF, there will be no change, except to the extent that SWEPT paid into the ETF exceeds education grants paid out of the ETF. The Department is not able to calculate the fiscal impact of this change for FY 2027 and forward because it does not have the data for those years. However, for FY 2026, had the proposed legislation been in effect, Department of Education's adequacy calculations indicate that approximately $28.6 million of SWEPT in excess of the educations grants for adequacy would have been deposited to the ETF and not returned in grants.
The Department would need to develop forms and modify its systems to implement the electronic filing and payment mechanism necessary to facilitate the payment of the SWEPT to the Department. The Department estimates a one-time expense in FY 2026 of $300,000 in general funds for this purpose. The Department does not anticipate needing any additional positions related to remitting SWEPT back to the State or the changes to the Low and Moderate Income Homeowners Property Tax Relief program.
The Department is not able to determine the fiscal impact of the portions of this bill impacting the Low and Moderate Income Homeowners Property Tax Relief program as it does not have all the data needed to calculate the fiscal impact. The proposed legislation would increase the maximum qualifying household income, decrease the maximum qualifying homestead value, and adjust the income brackets for award determination, all with respect to the amount of tax relief available to the claimant. Additionally, the proposed legislation would impose a cap on payments of $30 million in aggregate and $1,100 per claimant and would change the residence
date for eligibility to the date of the final tax bill. These changes are to be effective January 1, 2026. The Department interprets this proposed effective date as first impacting property taxes assessed on April 1, 2026. The application period for this taxable period will begin on May 1, 2027 with rebates being made starting in FY 2028. The changed eligibility date will permit taxpayers who purchase property during the tax year to apply for Low and Moderate Income Homeowners Property Tax Relief during their first partial year of home ownership.
The Department is unclear how these changes will impact the number of claimants, or the relief amounts which on average and in the aggregate have not yet come near to the capped amounts. However, the Department believes the expansion of the Low and Moderate Income Homeowners Property Tax Relief program to include the rebate of local as well as statewide education property tax would result in an indeterminable increase in state expenditures. The Department anticipates such expenditure might at least double, when analyzed as follows. Looking at data available from the Department of Education for tax year 2020, SWEPT revenue was $363 million and local education tax revenue was $2,141 million. In the 2021 claim year (during which rebates were awarded for SWEPT payments in tax year 2020), Low and Moderate Income Homeowners Property Tax Relief rebates of $1.4 million were awarded to 5,821 claimants, for an average of $241 per claimant. Since the eligibility criteria in this bill is the same for both state and local education property taxes, and since local education property taxes were several times greater than SWEPT, it is reasonable to assume that the same claimants who received SWEPT rebates would have received an identical local education property tax rebate had the expansion to local taxes been in place during tax year 2020. While it is not possible to know exactly how much additional local tax revenue might be eligible for rebate, it is reasonable to assume that the expansion of the program to include local education property tax would at least double the amount of rebates paid.
Department of Revenue Administration