House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading) issued the following statement today in response to the defeat of the proposed Sales Tax Rollback Amendment:While I am disappointed that Beacon Hill Democrats have once again ignored the voices of the taxpayers, I cannot say that I am surprised.
As proposed, the Sales Tax Rollback Amendment would gradually roll back the state sales tax to 5% over the course of 3 years from the current 6.25%, with zero impact for the upcoming fiscal year. While Democrats felt no need to study a proposed increase to the state sales tax just three years ago, my colleagues across the aisle seem strangely insistent on studying the effects of a tax rollback.
One need look no further than recent headlines to know that there are any number of examples for where we can tighten the state's belt fiscally. As a Legislature, we should tax as little possible, not as much as we possibly can. It is not our money! Every time we increase taxes, we have to justify using the power of the state to reach into taxpayers’ pockets to take that money.
Yet again, the process has failed the residents of the Commonwealth. Yet again, Democrats balked at the opportunity to put money back into the pockets of the taxpayers.
