Some admit it. The rest
just won’t say it out loud.
They voted to put a graduated income tax in the New Hampshire Constitution. Then they killed the ban on one, 193–148.
That’s not a slogan. That’s a roll call.
And because they refused to send the ban to voters, there is nothing on your ballot to stop it — except the 400 House seats you get to fill on November 3.
A Saint Anselm poll finds 71% of NH voters oppose an income tax — including a plurality of Democrats. Their own voters don’t want this.
67 Days to Stop the Income Tax at the Ballot Box
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158 House Democrats voted against banning an income tax. All of them are on the ballot November 3.
See Who Voted NoOn May 14, 2026, House Democrats did both in one afternoon. They voted to enshrine a progressive income tax in the New Hampshire Constitution — then all but four Democrats voted to kill CACR 12, the amendment that would have banned an income tax for good.
The session is over. The record is closed. Every one of them now has to explain it to voters on November 3.
A constitutional amendment to permanently ban a personal income tax in New Hampshire. Passed the Senate 16–8.
FAILED in the House, 193–148. Amending the constitution takes a three-fifths supermajority — 236 votes. The ban fell 43 short because all but four Democrats voted against it.
It will NOT be on the November 2026 ballot. The door stays open — and only the election can close it.
Rep. Thomas Oppel's floor amendment tried to flip CACR 12 into its opposite — a constitutional amendment authorizing a progressive income tax in New Hampshire.
Defeated — but every single vote to authorize it came from a Democrat. House Democrats went on record to put a graduated income tax in the Constitution.
They said they opposed an income tax. The roll call says otherwise.
“If the amendment is adopted, the legislature may impose progressive-based income taxes… at rates that rise or increase… as the income being taxed increases.”
— Floor Amendment to CACR 12, filed by Rep. Thomas Oppel (D-Grafton 9), May 12, 2026
“New Hampshire House Democrats will not support an income tax. An income tax has not and will not be considered.”
Files an amendment to put a progressive income tax in the New Hampshire Constitution.
House Democrats vote to authorize a progressive income tax — then all but four vote to kill the ban. The income-tax ban dies, 193–148, denied the supermajority it needed.
A constitutional ban would have taken the income tax off the table permanently — no matter who held the majority. Democrats made sure that never reached you. So the protection is now entirely political, and it expires every two years.
Put the ban in the Constitution and no future legislature can touch it. The Senate agreed, 16–8. The people never got to vote on it.
Every two years the door reopens. Flip a few dozen House seats and the people who voted to authorize a progressive income tax are the ones writing the tax code.
House seats on the ballot — the largest legislative body in the country, and the one that decides this.
Democrats already on record voting against a ban. Not a hypothetical — a roll call.
Of NH voters oppose an income tax. Their own voters disagree with them. Most just don’t know yet.
NH House districts are small. Races are won and lost by a handful of votes. This is the most winnable fight in American politics — if people show up.
Find out whether the people representing you voted to keep the income tax door open.
Doors, phones, postcards. A few hours in a targeted district is worth more than any ad buy.
Put this vote in front of every voter in every district we can reach before November 3.
Former Executive Councilor Andru Volinsky proposes the "3-3 Tax Savings Plan" — a 3% income tax on all NH residents plus a $3/$1,000 statewide property tax. Revenue target: ~$2 billion per year in new taxes.
"New Hampshire House Democrats will not support an income tax. House Democrats are fighting every day for our Fair Chance Agenda, and an income tax has not and will not be considered."
— House Minority Leader Alexis Simpson (D-Exeter)
The House votes on a constitutional amendment to ban income taxes. Every Republican voted YES. 158 Democrats voted NO. Only 4 Democrats crossed party lines to support the ban.
Andru Volinsky appears on WMUR's CloseUp, openly calling for recruiting more Democrats to run on supporting an income tax. This isn't a fringe idea anymore — it's a coordinated campaign to build a pro-income-tax majority in the legislature.
A Saint Anselm College Survey Center poll of 1,491 registered voters finds 71% oppose a state income tax — including a plurality of registered Democrats (47% oppose vs. 43% support). 158 House Democrats voted against banning it anyway.
On the House floor, Rep. Thomas Oppel's (D-Grafton 9) amendment to authorize a progressive income tax was defeated — but every vote in favor came from a Democrat. Then all but four Democrats voted against CACR 12 itself, and the income-tax ban failed 193–148, denied the three-fifths supermajority it needed. The ban is dead; it will not be on the November 2026 ballot.
Candidates are on the ballot. In a state where House races are routinely decided by a few dozen votes, this is where the field for November gets set.
In March, Democrats said an income tax “will not be considered.” Then they voted against banning it. In May they voted to authorize a progressive income tax in the Constitution — and killed the ban. Every one of them is on the ballot on November 3. The roll call is the campaign.
Here's what Andru Volinsky, Mark Fernald, and Rep. Thomas Oppel want to take from your family.
A flat 3% tax on all personal income — wages, salaries, investments, retirement income. Every dollar you earn, Concord takes 3 cents.
A $3 per $1,000 statewide property tax on top of your local property taxes. Your home is already taxed — now it gets taxed twice.
$2 billion per year taken from Granite State families and businesses. That's $1,400 for every man, woman, and child in New Hampshire.
Enter your household income to see your annual income tax under Volinsky's plan.
Every Democrat running for the New Hampshire House will say some version of this between now and November 3. It’s the whole pitch.
So ask them one question
“Okay —
With What Money?”
Then watch. They’ll talk about “fair share.” They’ll talk about “revenue.” They’ll talk about “a broad-based solution.” What they will not do is name the tax — because there is only one answer big enough, and saying it out loud ends the conversation.
They can’t answer the question
without admitting the income tax.
Volinsky’s “3-3” plan isn’t an income tax instead of property taxes. It’s a 3% income tax plus a brand-new statewide property tax of $3 per $1,000 of assessed value — on top of the town and school property taxes you already pay. Nobody’s bill goes down. A second one shows up.
Then add 3% of everything you earn. A $100,000 household with a $500,000 home is looking at roughly $4,500 a year in brand-new taxes — sold to them as property tax relief.
It’s not a swap. It’s both.
Their own leading voice on this put a number on it: a 3% income tax plus a statewide property tax — roughly $2 billion a year in new taxes. Not lower taxes. Both taxes.
On May 14, House Democrats voted for a floor amendment to authorize graduated income taxes in the Constitution. You don’t write that language unless you plan to use it.
If an income tax truly “will not be considered,” banning one costs you nothing. 158 of them refused anyway. People don’t protect options they never intend to use.
And there’s a reason to doubt the promise even if you believe the intent — Connecticut made exactly this deal in 1991. Here’s how that went.
The income tax is the headline. The other half of the agenda is raising taxes on New Hampshire businesses — and every one of those bills gets paid at the register.
Market Basket keeps prices low on thin margins. Tax the margin and the price on the shelf goes up. A grocery tax is what a business tax is, once it reaches your cart.
Gas stations pay business taxes too — on some of the thinnest margins in retail. Raise their costs and the number on the sign goes up. It always does.
Employers that can leave, leave. New Hampshire’s whole competitive advantage is being the cheap place to do business in New England. Give that up and the jobs follow it south.
To fund the promise
Or never come here
Fewer payers, smaller base
The hole they dug becomes the argument
Raising taxes on the businesses that can most easily leave doesn’t raise money — it shrinks the base you collect from. Then the shortfall becomes the excuse for the broad-based tax they wanted the whole time. That’s not a bug in the plan. That is the plan.
They promised an income tax would lower property taxes. It didn't.
Enacted an income tax in 1991
No income tax — ever
Sound familiar? They promised a sales tax would lower property taxes. It didn't.
Enacted a "temporary" sales tax in 1966
In 1966, Governor Volpe told Massachusetts residents a 3% sales tax would bring "significant reductions in property taxes." Voters approved it 3-to-1. The legislature made it permanent the very next year. Today, the sales tax has more than doubled to 6.25% — and property taxes are higher than ever. Thousands of those Massachusetts residents moved to New Hampshire to escape exactly this. Now Democrats want to bring it here.
Volinsky's income tax starts at 3%. Connecticut's income tax started at 1.5% — now it's 6.99%. Massachusetts' sales tax started at 3% — now it's 6.25%. More revenue fuels more government. The only way to stop it is to ban it.
A new Saint Anselm College poll of 1,491 registered voters makes it crystal clear.
Oppose a State Income Tax
This Is Why They Voted the Way They Did
of Democrats are open to an income tax
43% support it outright. Another 10% are "unsure." Only 47% oppose.
More than half the Democratic base wants an income tax. That's why 158 House Democrats voted against banning it. They weren't breaking a promise — they were keeping one to their base.
Source: Saint Anselm College Survey Center, March 16–18, 2026. n=1,491 NH registered voters. Margin of error ±2.5%.
Watch the coverage. Democrats are pushing for an income tax in New Hampshire.
NHJournal Podcast
WMUR
WMUR — CloseUp
WMUR
Concord Monitor — Op-Ed
March 24, 2026
Union Leader — Op-Ed
March 19, 2026
InDepthNH — Op-Ed
March 11, 2026
NH Journal
May 14, 2026
Union Leader
May 14, 2026
InDepthNH
May 14, 2026
NH Journal
March 2026
NH Journal
March 2026
NH Journal
March 2026
NH Journal
March 2026
NH Journal
March 2026
NH Journal
March 2026
NH Journal
March 2026
NH Journal
March 2026
Union Leader
March 5, 2026
InDepthNH
March 5, 2026
NH Bulletin
March 4, 2026
NHPR
March 4, 2026
NH Bulletin
March 3, 2026
Americans for Prosperity
March 3, 2026
Concord Monitor
March 3, 2026
CACR 12 would have permanently banned a personal income tax in New Hampshire — and it would have taken a vote of the people to do it. It passed the Senate 16–8. Then, on May 14, 2026, House Democrats killed it, denying the ban the three-fifths supermajority it needed (193–148).
They didn’t just vote against a ban. They took the question away from you — in a state where 71% of voters would have said yes. The one vote they couldn’t take away is the one you cast on November 3.
March 5, 2026 — CACR 10 as Amended — Ban Income Taxes
Every single one voted to ban income taxes
100% voted to ban income taxes
158 voted to keep the income tax option alive
97.5% voted AGAINST banning income taxes
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Did your rep vote against banning an income tax? They’re on the ballot in 67 days.
Concord had its vote and blew it. On November 3, we get ours. Pledge to vote against any candidate who won’t rule out an income tax — and we’ll make sure you know exactly where yours stands before you get to the polls.
Election Day — November 3
67 days
All 400 House seats. Every one of the 158.
They had their chance to end the income tax question forever and they voted it down. New Hampshire doesn’t get a ban on the ballot this November — it gets something better: a choice about who writes the tax code for the next two years. Make it count.