Tax versus Value - Living on the Boarder

For a town like Springfield Vermont, which borders a no-sales-tax state like New Hampshire, competing head-to-head on retail price is usually a losing strategy.  The strongest path is to compete on value, experience, convenience, and distinctiveness instead of trying to beat tax advantages.  So what can we do to achieve this?

1. Become a destination, not just a shopping stop

If people cross the border only to buy cheaper goods, you need reasons for them to stay, spend, and return. We need to continue to focus on and offer more festivals and signature events, including Food, arts, music, local culture, Downtown experiences, and heritage tourism.

2. Lean into local products people can’t get elsewhere

You can’t out-tax a neighboring state, but you can offer: artisan goods, Vermont-made food products, specialty outdoor products, boutique retail, unique experiences, and services.  People will pay more when the offering feels unique.  “Why drive to NH for generic when Springfield has something authentic?”

3. Recruit businesses less sensitive to sales tax

The best economic strategy may be to attract sectors where sales tax matters less, such as advanced manufacturing, professional services, remote-work hubs, health and wellness services, specialty fabrication, outdoor recreation businesses, and knowledge-based small firms.  Springfield has the foundation for each of these, but needs to continue recruiting and supporting more of them.

4. Capture visitor spending through experiences

Sales tax matters less when people are dining, lodging, enjoying outdoor sports, or attending events.  Springfield already has lots to offer from the Chamber’s Vermont Apple Festival that attracts nearly 8,000 visitors, a world-class regional airport, historical sites dating back to First Nation, and hundreds of miles of recreation trails and waterways.  We need to do a better job of exploiting these rich resources and advertising them beyond the Town boarders.

5. Build regional partnerships instead of border rivalry

Work with neighboring communities in both Vermont and New Hampshire.  The goal is to become the regional hub for experience and innovation, not winning a tax war.  For the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce specifically, a strong strategic message is “You may shop tax-free elsewhere. You invest in community when you spend in Springfield.”  This reframes spending locally as civic participation rather than just a transaction.