The Boston Globe ran the attached opinion piece by House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading) in its Globe North edition on Sunday regarding the “millionaire tax” ballot question proposed for the 2018 state election:
One
of the potential ballot questions being eyed for the 2018 state election would
replace Massachusetts’ flat tax rate – currently set at 5.15 percent – with a
two-tiered system where taxpayers in a higher income bracket would pay at a
higher rate. Voters have rejected five similar ballot measures in the past,
most recently in 1994.
The
Fair Share Amendment now being proposed would tax income over $1 million an
additional 4 percent, with the new revenues that would be generated earmarked
for education and transportation.
Certainly
everyone can agree on the importance of maintaining a quality education system
to prepare our children for college and the workforce. And after last winter’s
historic snowfall ground the MBTA to a virtual halt and stranded thousands of
commuters, there is no doubt that transportation improvements need to be near
the top of the agenda. But there are ways to improve our schools and public
transportation without raising taxes.
Massachusetts
residents already face the fourth highest per capita combined state and local
tax burden in the country. Raising the income tax rate for one group of
Massachusetts residents puts us on a slippery slope. How long before we start
imposing higher taxes on other segments of the population and making the state
even more unaffordable?
Historically,
Massachusetts has a poor track record when it comes to taxes. In 1989, facing a
large budget deficit, the Legislature passed a “temporary” tax increase,
raising the income tax from 5 percent to 5.95 percent. Frustrated voters demanded
relief and sent a clear message by overwhelmingly approving a 2000 ballot
initiative to return the tax rate to 5 percent. Today, 26 years after the
“temporary” tax increase went into effect, taxpayers are still waiting to get
back to the promised 5 percent.
Here
is something else to consider: In 1989, the state budget totaled $12 billion.
Today it stands at $38.1 billion, more than three times the 1989 total.
The
fact is, Massachusetts does not have a revenue problem; it has a spending
problem. The Legislature needs to practice fiscal restraint by setting
priorities and making sure taxpayer money is being used both efficiently and
cost-effectively, rather than automatically resorting to tax increases.
