Open for Business
For fourteen years, New Hampshire's business tax rates didn't move. The Business Profits Tax sat at 8.5%. The Business Enterprise Tax sat at 0.75%. Nothing changed.
Then in 2016, the legislature forced a reluctant Governor Hassan to accept the first rate cut in over a decade. Governor Sununu signed every cut after that. In ten years, the BPT dropped from 8.5% to 7.5%. The BET dropped from 0.75% to 0.55%.
Critics said the cuts would blow a hole in the budget. Revenue more than doubled. From $517 million in 2015 to $1.22 billion in 2022. Companies started showing up. Jobs followed. And New Hampshire became the business magnet of New England.
The Rate Cuts
| Year | BPT Rate | BET Rate | Who |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 8.5% | 0.75% | Unchanged 14 years |
| 2016 | 8.2% | 0.72% | Hassan (forced by GOP budget deal) |
| 2018 | 7.9% | 0.675% | Sununu (HB 517) |
| 2019 | 7.7% | 0.60% | Sununu (scheduled triggers met) |
| 2022 | 7.6% | 0.55% | Sununu (HB 2, 2021 budget) |
| 2023 | 7.5% | 0.55% | Sununu (HB 1221) |
The 2021 budget also raised the BET filing threshold from $107,000 to $250,000, exempting roughly 30,000 small businesses from the tax entirely. The same budget began phasing out the Interest and Dividends tax, which reached zero on January 1, 2025. New Hampshire is now one of only two states with no income tax and no sales tax.
The Revenue Surprise
NH Department of Revenue
The standard objection is that national corporate profits surged post-COVID and every state saw revenue growth. That's true. The NH Fiscal Policy Institute argues that Vermont and Maine saw even larger percentage gains without cutting rates.
But Vermont and Maine didn't attract SynQor or Analogic. They didn't get BAE Systems expanding by 800 jobs. The revenue comparison misses the physical businesses and real jobs that moved to New Hampshire specifically because of its tax environment. Those companies didn't relocate to Montpelier.
Who Showed Up
The most visible results of the tax cuts aren't in the revenue tables. They're in the buildings going up and the moving trucks heading north on I-93.
Companies That Relocated to NH
SynQor (2025)
Power converter manufacturer serving military, industrial, and medical markets. Closed its entire Boxborough, MA headquarters and moved all 250 jobs to 9 Northeastern Blvd, Salem.
Analogic Corporation (2025)
Health care and security technology company (CT scanners, airport security screening). Left Peabody, MA after nearly 50 years. 500 jobs to Salem, NH. Same address as SynQor.
Albany International (2025)
Global advanced materials company (~$1 billion revenue). Moved corporate headquarters to the Pease International Tradeport. Could have located anywhere in the world.
SynQor and Analogic alone represent 750 jobs from Massachusetts to New Hampshire in a single year. Both chose Salem, a town of 30,000 just over the border with direct access to I-93. NH Republicans held a press conference at the Massachusetts State House to thank Governor Healey for the policies that drove these companies north.
“We came to the Massachusetts State House today to thank Governor Healey and the Massachusetts Democrats in office for their leadership and driving their policies that have made Massachusetts such a bad state to do business in and New Hampshire such a good state to do business in.”Rep. Joseph Sweeney (R-Salem), Deputy House Majority Leader
Major Expansions
BAE Systems
Third-largest defense contractor in the world. New 200,000 sq ft facility at Goffs Falls Road for electronic warfare systems. Plus $35.5 million in CHIPS Act funding to modernize their Nashua microelectronics center, quadrupling production of chips for F-35 fighter jets. 6,000+ total NH employees.
Fidelity Investments
Three consecutive years of major hiring at their Merrimack campus. Now over 6,500 employees at one of Fidelity's largest locations globally. Roles in tech, engineering, financial services.
Sig Sauer
State-of-the-art headquarters at Pease Tradeport. New 210,000 sq ft campus in Rochester with 300+ jobs, supported by a $21.1 million state-backed bond. 3,400+ total employees.
Lonza
Swiss biotech manufacturing giant. $220 million investment in Portsmouth for biopharmaceutical production, including gene therapy manufacturing. Plans to expand to over 1 million sq ft.
ARMI / ReGen Valley
One of only 12 federally funded Tech Hubs in the country. $44 million for a biomanufacturing facility in theManchester Millyard. 170+ industry partners. Completion: 2027.
United Therapeutics
$60+ million investment in organ manufacturing at the Millyard. 3D-printed organ scaffolds for transplant. Goal: unlimited supply of transplantable organs by end of the decade.
Hypertherm
Advanced cutting systems manufacturer. New 160,000 sq ft facility with R&D space, training classrooms, and engineering labs.
The Regional Scoreboard
New Hampshire is the only state in New England with no income tax and no sales tax. Here's how the region stacks up:
| State | Corporate Rate | Income Tax | Sales Tax | TF Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | 7.5% | None | None | #3 |
| Maine | 8.93% | 7.15% | 5.5% | #26 |
| Vermont | 8.5% | 8.75% | 6.0% | #38 |
| Rhode Island | 7.0% | 5.99% | 7.0% | #40 |
| Massachusetts | 8.0% | 9% (on $1M+) | 6.25% | #43 |
| Connecticut | 7.5% + 10% surcharge | 6.99% | 6.35% | #47 |
Source: Tax Foundation, 2026 State Tax Competitiveness Index
New Hampshire ranks 3rd nationally. The next-best New England state is Maine at 26th. Massachusetts is 43rd. Connecticut is 47th. Only Wyoming and South Dakota rank higher than NH overall.
Beyond the rates, NH has structural advantages that don't show up in a single number: no inventory tax, no payroll tax, no capital gains tax, no estate tax. A business owner in Manchester pays a fraction of what the same business would pay in Boston, and the cost of living is 32% lower.
The Contrast
While New Hampshire was cutting rates and recruiting companies, its neighbors were doing the opposite.
Connecticut watched GE leave Fairfield after 40 years. Aetna left Hartford after 150 years. Alexion moved to Boston. United Technologies merged out. Rogers Corporation fled to Arizona. Connecticut now ranks 47th in tax competitiveness and carries $7,988 per capita in bonded debt, the highest in America.
Massachusetts passed a 4% millionaires surtax in 2022, pushing the top rate to 9%. Revenue poured in. So did the moving trucks heading north. 20,000+ Massachusetts residents relocated to New Hampshire in 2024. Wealth managers report half their MA clients have left or plan to. And companies like SynQor and Analogic voted with their feet.
Governor Healey's response: "Our economy is about eight times the size of New Hampshire's."
True. And shrinking.
“Once again, New Hampshire is setting the model for the rest of the country for how government efficiency allows for individuals, families, and businesses to thrive. When you cut taxes, spend money wisely, and slash overbearing, burdensome regulations, freedom and the economy flourish.”Governor Chris Sununu
The Numbers
Bureau of Labor Statistics
U.S. Census Bureau
U.S. Census Bureau
Fraser Institute, 2025
New Hampshire's unemployment rate has been below 3% every month since December 2015, excluding the COVID spike. The state has 136,000 small businesses employing half the workforce. Venture capital deals totaled $289 million in 2025. The Manchester Millyard, once a collection of abandoned textile mills, now houses DEKA Research, a $44 million federal Tech Hub, and an organ manufacturing lab.
That doesn't happen by accident. It happens when a state decides to compete on freedom instead of subsidies, and then follows through for a decade.
What's at Stake
New Hampshire's business tax advantage is real but not permanent. The 3-3 Plan would impose an income tax that hits every business owner and every high earner in the state. The same people who moved their companies here would start looking at their options. The same math that made Salem better than Peabody would reverse overnight.
Connecticut's example is 90 minutes south on I-91. Massachusetts is learning the same lesson right now. The businesses that left those states chose New Hampshire because of what we don't have: an income tax, a sales tax, and a government that thinks it knows better than the market.
Keeping that advantage requires saying no to the people who want to change it. Every session, every year, every vote.
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