Interesting nugget leading off Tom Fahey’s Under the State House Dome column in yesterday’s Union Leader. It seems that the hastily approved and widely reviled LLC Tax didn’t raise anywhere near the money that Revenue Commissioner Kevin Clougherty guessed it would.

The Union Leader reports since the Manchester and Nashua Chambers of Commerce can’t convince Revenue Commissioner Kevin Clougherty to hold a public hearing on the LLC Tax near them, they’re going north to testify.

As New Hampshire budget writers faced a June 30th deadline, Revenue Commissioner Kevin Clougherty presented the House-Senate Committee of Conference a memo outlining 11 suggestions to increase state revenues, including the controversial LLC Tax now generating opposition from New Hampshire’s small business community. Clougherty’s June 15th Memo contained five tax changes that were eventually adopted in the state budget law HB2, one that continues to be implemented by the Department of Revenue Administration (Like Kind Exchanges), and five suggestions that were put on the shelf. When the Legislature revisits the widening state budget gap in 2010, it is likely to revisit these five suggestions. Here is a preview of five changes in tax law likely to be considered next year.

Tom Fahey reports in the Union Leader on three more chances to share your thoughts on the LLC tax.

Ashley Smith reports in the Nashua Telegraph on this week’s “Back Stage Pass” seminar on the New Hampshire budget, sponsored by the Nashua Chamber of Commerce.

State Senator Jeb Bradley, who Commissioner Clougherty identifed as “Deborah Bradley” promises that the Legislature will hold at least more public hearings on the LLC tax, since both he and Representative David Hess has filed bills to repeal it.

Former State Senator Bob Clegg argues that the DRA isn’t in any position to define the legislative intent behind the LLC tax, since there was no public hearings to make that intent clear. He says while the DRA has been talking to accountants and tax attorneys on how to implement the tax, but says those are the people who will be paying the tax. Clegg says rather than rush to close a “loophole”, the DRA should have asked how taking $30 million from LLC’s will hurt those businesses.