Tax protest rallies today in Concord, Manchester

MANCHESTER – Several hundred people fed up with taxes will protest government spending at tea party rallies today in Concord and Manchester.

One rally is scheduled for noon on the steps of the New Hampshire State House.

A second rally, one of hundreds around the country on this Tax Day, will be at 5:30 p.m. in Victory Park in Manchester.

The New Hampshire chapter of Americans for Prosperity, the host of the Concord event, has lined up a dozen speakers on government spending at local, state and federal levels.

Like the Boston Tea Party, today's events are draped in symbolism.

The great-grandson of the late Gov. Meldrim Thomson, whose "ax the tax" slogan cemented a political pledge against a state income tax and sales tax, will lead the Pledge of Allegiance in Concord.

Speakers will include small business owners, elected leaders and tax foes. They will include Republican Jennifer Horn, a journalist from Nashua who may run again for U.S. House, and state Rep. Neal Kurk, R-Weare, a veteran of state budget issues.

The rally in Manchester is led by the New Hampshire Advantage Coalition. Organizers expect around 700 people will attend the event, which is located at 119 Concord St.

The protest is one of several around the state that coincide with the deadline for filing federal income taxes with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

Grant Bosse, a Republican who ran for U.S. House last year, said he would attend both the Concord and Manchester rallies.

Though speakers will criticize federal stimulus spending and corporate bailouts, it is not exactly a political rally, according to Bosse. He describes the protest as a matter of policy, not personality.

"We've had a kind of failure of the political class in both parties," he said.