A measure to phase in a reduction of New Hampshire's insurance premium tax should be voted on this week in the State House of Representatives, its sponsor said.
The Premium Tax Reduction Bill (HB 678) sponsored by Rep. Kevin L. Camm, R-E. Hampstead, was approved last week by the House Ways and Means Committee by a 15-2 vote after several hours of debate over the legislation's economic merits.
Rep. Camm said he was hopeful the measure would pass the House during Wednesday's session and be sent onto the Senate because the bill received a good committee recommendation.
The representative said this is the second session he has sponsored the bill and it has had extensive work in both the Commerce and Ways and Means committees. "They've done some phasing to make it a little more palatable," he noted.
The bill phases in the reduction for insurers domiciled in New Hampshire.
Frank O'Brien, vice president, regional manager and counsel for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, forecast the measure would stimulate economic growth in the state.
He said that over the past 10 years, New Hampshire has lost insurance companies that were domesticated in the state. Reducing the tax, according to Mr. O'Brien, will help to retain current companies and recruit new companies.
According to PCI, states that have lowered their insurance premium taxes have experienced economic gains as insurers have moved to incorporate in those states.
States that lowered their insurance premium tax rates have found that investment by insurers in the form of new employment, acquisition of property and consumption of services have stimulated economic growth, PCI added.
"By reducing the insurance premium tax, New Hampshire will give itself a competitive advantage over other states with higher rates," Mr. O'Brien said.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
