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Will Massachusetts Taxpayers Finally Say
“Reduce my taxes!” Date: September 28, 2008 |
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From the state that
brought you Ted Kennedy and Universal Healthcare and one of the highest tax
rates in the land, there is a strong possibility that voters in the liberal’s
paradise of Yes, you read that correctly. At issue is Question 1, which
would eliminate the state income tax. It would save the average taxpayer
about $3,600 a year. Annual revenue from the tax is about $12.5 billion,
roughly 45 percent of the state’s budget of about $28 billion. “These are tough
times for everyone as it is, and if Question 1 passes, things will become
exponentially more difficult,” said Leslie A. Kirwan, the Ms. Kirwan added that because some state programs cannot
legally be cut, others would face cuts of 60 percent or more. The loss of
billions of dollars from Question 1, she said, would devastate state
services. Elected leaders across the
state are worried. Even with the tag of
Taxachusetts, its recent history suggests taxpayers are fed up. In 2000, voters
approved a phased rollback of the income tax rate from 5.75 percent to 5
percent. The Legislature froze the rate at 5.3 percent in 2002, permitting
further reductions only if economic conditions allowed. In 2002, a ballot
measure to scrap the income tax received hardly any public attention. But to
the shock of elected officials, it netted 45 percent of the vote statewide
and a majority in nearly a third of towns. Now, with the crippled economy, opponents fear that Question 1 will
have even more traction. Health care workers, small-business owners and unions are especially
concerned about that prospect. A new group, the Coalition for Our
Communities, has raised $1.3 million, about $1 million of that from the “fat
cat” national teachers’ unions, and plans television advertisements and
direct mail campaigns against the repeal. The pro-repeal effort,
which gathered 11,000 signatures to put the measure on the ballot, has much
less money — about $25,000 left to spend, disclosure reports show. “Politicians at the state and local level are overwhelmingly against
us,” said Carla Howell, chairwoman of the Committee for Small Government,
who ran for governor in 2002. “Everyday
voters are much more inclined to end the income tax.” Question 1 would cut the tax by half the first year and eliminate it
the next year, and Ms. Howell said the state could compensate by cutting
lucrative employee pensions, paring bureaucracies and spending wisely. “We
don’t have to cut any essential services or any government programs that are
providing a benefit to the people of Massachusetts,” Ms. Howell said. “All we have to do is cut government waste.” Some voters who wanted taxes lowered to 5 percent have decided to
support Question 1 to show their anger at the state, said Barbara Anderson,
director of Citizens for Limited Taxation, which advocated 5 percent but is
now producing bumper stickers that read “Hell Yes! Question 1.” “It’s the only game in town, it’s the only question on the ballot,
it’s the only chance for us to express our outrage,” Ms. Anderson said. “The more we looked at it and realized that
other states get along very well without an income tax, like The 5.3 percent income
tax rate is far from the nation’s highest, and, according to the Tax
Foundation, a nonpartisan group, Only seven states have
no income tax, but while ballot questions on sales and other taxes are
common, those proposing income tax repeals are rare, said Pete Sepp, a
spokesman for the National Taxpayers Union, which supports the So let’s wish the taxpayers well in their quest to severely restrict
the waste and corruption inherent in Big Government. |
