CONCORD - The House Ways and Means Committee presented revenue estimates on Wednesday that are about $45 million less than those in Gov. Maggie Hassan's proposed budget.

The committee did not include the $80 million in casino licensing fees that Hassan included in her budget, nor a 20-cent increase in the tobacco tax she requested.

Instead, the estimate include the 10-cent increase that will occur by law this summer, because tobacco revenues have not reached projections after the tax was cut 10 cents a pack two years ago.

The Ways and Means Committee is also projecting a larger shortfall - about $15 million - for he current fiscal year than the governor included in her proposal.

Committee chair Rep, Susan Almy, D-Lebanon, said the committee believes business taxes and rooms and meals and real estate transfer taxes will increase at a greater percentage than recent increases.

She said the committee decided to use national forecast of growth of about 2.1 percent in fiscal 2014 and 3.3 percent in fiscal 2015.

But Republican members of the Ways and Means Committee are projecting revenues about $42 million less than the Democratic members.

The House Finance Committee will use the estimates as it crafts the House version of the budget.



grayno@unionleader.com