CLT News Release
Tuesday. January 22, 2019
Gov. Baker’s latest disappointment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Chip Ford, Executive Director
Governor Baker's next assault on taxpayers was announced on Friday with
his scheme to hike the deeds excise tax by 50 percent.
When he increased payroll taxes last year on employers and employees by
an annual $800 million as part of his "Grand Bargain," he defended
betraying his alleged opposition to tax and fees increases by stating:
"I guess the way I think about this is there's a benefit that's attached
to this thing, and that benefit is a paid family leave provision that
did not previously exist in state law."
Has the governor ever come across a tax hike that didn't have
some "benefit that's attached" for somebody? Every time spending is
increased it benefits somebody, and every time someone benefits
from government spending that benefit is paid by taxpayers.
In
a lame defense of this latest breach of trust he stated: "This is an
excise tax that's basically about property and the proposal we're making
here is to protect property. We think, in the long run, the cost/benefit
on this one is a good deal for Massachusetts residents."
Gov. Baker previously defended additional taxes and fee increases by
saying he can get behind a tax hike if it funds a new program.
With his proposed 50% tax hike on the cost of property deed transfers he
has acknowledged this will further fund an established,
existing program: "This proposal will build on the over $600
million we have already invested to mitigate and prepare for the adverse
effects of climate change and help to build more resilient communities.”
Gov. Baker has an excuse for every betrayal. He's smooth, he’s
slippery, and he’s sliding down the slope, seemingly a victim of
Stockholm syndrome.
For a candidate who campaigned on opposition to raising taxes and fees,
Gov. Baker has become — well, a disappointment.
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Citizens for Limited Taxation ▪ PO
Box 1147 ▪ Marblehead, MA 01945
▪ (781) 639-9709
