CLT
UPDATE
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
House Democrats again kill
“temporary tax” rollback;
“Another slap in the face” to 1.5 million voters
Despite crying poor mouth while killing a
voter-approved income tax rollback, Democratic lawmakers want taxpayers
to foot the bill for pay hikes for court officers, a new state
geologist, pond weed reduction and gravel pit "improvements."
"The budget is their opportunity to get pork for their districts," said
Barbara Anderson, spokeswoman for the watchdog group Citizens
for Limited Taxation. "Democrats are scrambling to suck up the
taxpayers' money to go back and get themselves re-elected."
House lawmakers painted a bleak picture of the state's finances while
debating their $23.6 billion budget yesterday, but the 1,250 amendments
seeking state money for local projects tell a different story....
"We hear the money's not there, but on the same hand, they've put aside
hundreds of thousands of dollars for their pet projects," Massachusetts
Republican Party executive director Tim O'Brien said.
Democratic Party spokeswoman Jane Lane called the GOP complaints an
"election-year ploy."
"The state cannot afford a tax rollback at this point. Not when cities
and towns are in desperate need of money to finance essential services,"
Lane said....
Despite killing a voter-approved income tax rollback, House lawmakers
are seeking to tack on millions in pork-barrel spending to their
proposed $23.6 billion state budget...
The Boston Herald
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Tax foes squeal over budget packed with 'pork' by House
Arguing that Massachusetts desperately needs the money, the
House last night rejected Governor Mitt Romney's proposed income tax cut by an
overwhelming 135-21 margin....
"Don't you think at some level, it's a little dangerous for elected members of
the House and Senate to ignore the will of the voters, to think somehow that we
know better than what they told us to do in the year 2000?" said Representative
Jeffrey David Perry, a Sandwich Republican....
In order to deny the Republicans a straight up-or-down vote on the tax cut,
which might be used by the Republicans as political ammunition, the Democrats
attached a "further amendment" calling for a study on the impact of the tax cut.
The Democrats then voted for the amendment, knowing they had delayed the cut
indefinitely.
The Boston Globe
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
House Democrats kill income tax cut
Argue GOP plan not affordable
State Rep. John Rogers, D-Norwood, said the rollback is
"fiscally irresponsible" in a state with a $800 million structural deficit.
State Rep. Thomas Stanley, D-Waltham, who opposed the rollback, said the
Massachusetts
Taxpayers Foundation has said that talk of a surplus in the state is
misleading because budget estimates last year were conservative.
The MetroWest Daily News
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Tax rate rollback nixed by House
House Democrats killed the income tax rollback today,
justifying their irresponsible action with false, gloom-and-doom rhetoric about
the health of the state's economy and altogether ignoring money-saving reforms.
"The Democrats will say anything to justify killing the income tax rollback.
They claim the economy isn't healthy, but they are just plain wrong. They say
the state needs the tax money, but they won't save money by cutting waste and
passing reforms such as the merger of the Turnpike and MassHighway," said Tim
O'Brien, Executive Director of the MassGOP. "The truth is the Democrats used a
cheap trick to kill the tax cut. Now they will spend this money on ridiculous
spending such as tuition breaks for illegal immigrants, pay raises for their
lackeys and a new state geologist."
MassGOP News Release
Monday, April 25, 2005
House Democrats kill tax rollback
There ought to be a political price to pay for House members
who voted to kill the final phase of the voter-approved income tax rollback
yesterday. But who'll make them pay it?
A Boston Herald editorial
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
A Beacon Hill price for tax cut defeat
Massachusetts House of Representatives
Debate on Income Tax Rollback
April 25, 2005
CLICK HERE
Chip Ford's CLT Commentary
Along a party-line vote, yesterday House Democrats
again broke the Legislature's 16-year old "temporary" tax hike promise,
again thumbed their noses at the rollback mandated by 59 percent of the
voters in 2000. One Democrat, state Rep. Joseph Wagner (D-Chicopee),
broke ranks for whatever his reason and voted with the 20 Republicans.
(Rep. Michael Coppolla [R-Foxboro] was absent for the vote.)
The tax-and-spend Democrats pulled another sneaky
parliamentary maneuver in the hope of avoiding being tagged as voting
against the rollback and against the voters again. They instead adopted a
"further
amendment" to send off Rep. Jeff Perry's rollback amendment for
"study" -- the death sentence for unpopular legislation -- and thereby
avoided an outright "no" vote on the rollback.
CLT associate director Chip Faulkner was at the State
House yesterday delivering our memo to every member of the House. He
summed up the debate as "Another slap in the face to the
million-and-a-half voters who mandated the rollback four years ago."
This important roll call vote will be used by CLT in
its next House Legislative Rating. 135 Democrats failed miserably; 20
Republicans and one Democrat passed with flying colors.
It's abundantly clear that the Democrat majority has
no intention of ever abiding by the will of the electorate, of keeping
its promise of "temporary," or of ever rolling back the tax rate
so long as they're ruling the state. Despite the Legislature's 2002 fig leaf of a
"triggered" rollback, we know that will never come about even by its
full implementation date of 2014. Certainly not with the amount of pork
spending the Bacon Hill pols are piling on, already creating the next "fiscal crisis."
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Chip Ford |
The Boston Herald
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Tax foes squeal over budget packed with 'pork' by House
By Dave Wedge
Despite crying poor mouth while killing a voter-approved income tax
rollback, Democratic lawmakers want taxpayers to foot the bill for pay
hikes for court officers, a new state geologist, pond weed reduction and
gravel pit "improvements."
"The budget is their opportunity to get pork for their districts," said
Barbara Anderson, spokeswoman for the watchdog group Citizens
for Limited Taxation. "Democrats are scrambling to suck up the
taxpayers' money to go back and get themselves re-elected."
House lawmakers painted a bleak picture of the state's finances while
debating their $23.6 billion budget yesterday, but the 1,250 amendments
seeking state money for local projects tell a different story.
Among the spending requests are:
"We hear the money's not there, but on the same hand,
they've put aside hundreds of thousands of dollars for their pet
projects," Massachusetts Republican Party executive director Tim O'Brien
said.
Democratic Party spokeswoman Jane Lane called the GOP complaints an
"election-year ploy."
"The state cannot afford a tax rollback at this point. Not when cities
and towns are in desperate need of money to finance essential services,"
Lane said.
Of the allegations of pork spending by Democrats, Lane said:
"Legislators, regardless of party affiliation, do what they can to help
their local communities."
Spending spree
Despite killing a voter-approved income tax rollback, House lawmakers
are seeking to tack on millions in pork-barrel spending to their
proposed $23.6 billion state budget:
Source: House budget
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The Boston Globe
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
House Democrats kill income tax cut
Argue GOP plan not affordable
By Scott S. Greenberger, Globe Staff
Arguing that Massachusetts desperately needs the money, the House last
night rejected Governor Mitt Romney's proposed income tax cut by an
overwhelming 135-21 margin.
Republicans offered Romney's tax cut as an amendment to the fiscal 2006
state budget, which the House began debating yesterday. State
representatives are expected to work into the night all week as they
consider about 1,300 proposed amendments to the $23.6 billion spending
plan House leaders put forth earlier this month.
The House spending plan, which is about 2.5 percent larger than this
year's budget, relies on an anticipated modest uptick in tax revenues to
boost spending on schools and social services, but does not come close
to fully restoring programs Beacon Hill cut by about $3 billion during
the fiscal crisis that gripped Massachusetts between 2002 and 2004.
For nearly a year, Romney has been urging the Legislature to reduce the
state income tax to 5 percent. In 2000, voters approved a gradual
lowering of the income tax rate, which was 5.85 percent at the time, to
5 percent. But in the depths of the state's fiscal crisis in 2002, the
Legislature froze the rate at 5.3 percent.
The tax cut would cost $226 million in fiscal 2006 and $587 million in
fiscal 2007, according to the Department of Revenue. In fiscal 2007, the
cut would be worth about $146 to a married couple earning $60,000 and
$133 to a single person earning $50,000.
"Don't you think at some level, it's a little dangerous for elected
members of the House and Senate to ignore the will of the voters, to
think somehow that we know better than what they told us to do in the
year 2000?" said Representative Jeffrey David Perry, a Sandwich
Republican.
Supporters noted that in the last fiscal year, the state collected $700
million more in tax revenue than it had predicted. But foes say that
figure masks the gap between the state's mandatory spending and the
revenue it can count on every year. The House budget relies on $380
million from the state's reserves to close the gap.
"We all watched as the cities and towns laid off 14,500 teachers,
police, firefighters, librarians, and other important municipal
officials. We've watched people in Massachusetts lose their healthcare
because of the tightening of eligiblity requirements we were forced to
make," said Representative Ruth B. Balser, a Newton Democrat.
In order to deny the Republicans a straight up-or-down vote on the tax
cut, which might be used by the Republicans as political ammunition, the
Democrats attached a "further amendment" calling for a study on the
impact of the tax cut. The Democrats then voted for the amendment,
knowing they had delayed the cut indefinitely.
The House also last night delayed debate on a measure that would
increase revenue by $170 million. Last January, Romney proposed wringing
$170 million more out of corporations by closing what he called
loopholes in the tax code. But the governor subsequently proposed a
stripped-down package of $85 million, after protests from the business
community. Representative Jim Marzilli, an Arlington Democrat, planned
to offer an amendment restoring the original plan.
But Representative John J. Binienda, the House chairman of the Revenue
Committee, said the House delayed discussion of the measure because his
panel has not had time to fully examine it.
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The MetroWest Daily News
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Tax rate rollback nixed by House
By Emelie Rutherford, Daily News Staff
The House kicked off its debate on a proposed $23.7 billion state budget
yesterday, shooting down an income tax decrease MetroWest Democrats
opposed, while not considering a move to close tax loopholes backed by
some area lawmakers.
The state House of Representatives also increased funding in the
proposed fiscal 2006 budget for family support services at the state
Department of Mental Retardation, as requested by freshman state Rep.
Tom Sannicandro, D-Ashland.
The House overwhelmingly rejected multiple amendments to roll back the
state income tax from 5.3 percent to 5 percent despite objections of
Republicans, including state Rep. George Peterson Jr., R-Grafton.
The Democrat-dominated House instead voted for the state Department of
Revenue to study the tax reduction's impact. Voters approved the tax
decrease to 5 percent over three years in a 2000 ballot question.
Calling the rollback "fiscally unwise" and "anti-family," state Rep.
Deborah Blumer, D-Framingham, said the tax reduction would translate to
$50 less per family at a time when MetroWest and the state are
struggling.
State Rep. John Rogers, D-Norwood, said the rollback is "fiscally
irresponsible" in a state with a $800 million structural deficit. State
Rep. Thomas Stanley, D-Waltham, who opposed the rollback, said the
Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation has said that talk of a surplus
in the state is misleading because budget estimates last year were
conservative.
MassGOP Executive Director Tim O'Brien, however, said the Democrats are
ignoring "positive economic indicators," including new job generation
and a $700 million surplus added to state coffers last year.
The failed amendments also would have allowed people to deduct
charitable donations from their state taxes.
The House yesterday did not vote on an amendment -- cosponsored by
dozens of representatives, including Democrats David Linksy of Natick,
Jennifer Callahan of Sutton, Kay Khan of Newton, Blumer and Stanley --
to close $170 million in so-called corporate tax loopholes.
The amendment's sponsor, state Rep. James Marzilli, D-Arlington, said he
withdrew it because House leaders wanted to keep policy matters out of
the budget. The loophole issue will be addressed in a legislative
hearing next week, he said.
The amendment called for reform of state tax code to prevent businesses
from making some tax-reducing moves. It mirrored legislation Gov. Mitt
Romney filed earlier this year before he filed less sweeping legislation
meant to generate $85 million in taxes.
Marzilli said both of Romney's proposals will be weighed next week.
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MassGOP News Release
Monday, April 25, 2005
House Democrats kill tax rollback
Ignore Money-Saving Reforms;
Continue Misleading Rhetoric on Economy
House Democrats killed the income tax rollback today, justifying their
irresponsible action with false, gloom-and-doom rhetoric about the
health of the state's economy and altogether ignoring money-saving
reforms.
"The Democrats will say anything to justify killing the income tax
rollback. They claim the economy isn't healthy, but they are just plain
wrong. They say the state needs the tax money, but they won't save money
by cutting waste and passing reforms such as the merger of the Turnpike
and MassHighway," said Tim O'Brien, Executive Director of the MassGOP.
"The truth is the Democrats used a cheap trick to kill the tax cut. Now
they will spend this money on ridiculous spending such as tuition breaks
for illegal immigrants, pay raises for their lackeys and a new state
geologist."
Instead of voting up-and-down on the tax cut, Democrats instead replaced
the question with an amendment ordering the Department of Revenue to
study the matter. This parliamentary maneuver is widely viewed as
defeating the tax cut.
"I'm putting these Democrats on notice today. In two years when you are
running for re-election, the Republican Party will be there to remind
the voters that today you voted to kill the tax roll back. You may try
to claim you voted to study it, but that won't work. You voted to kill
it," O'Brien said.
Throughout the debate, Democrats claimed the state lacked funding for
so- called "essential services." Some Democrats, such as Rep. David
Flynn of Bridgewater, even claimed there is no revenue surplus.
According to the Department of Revenue, Flynn is simply wrong.
"Receipts for March were $124 million above the monthly benchmark. Year-
to-date revenues were $262 million above the yearly benchmark that was
revised in October," according to an April 1st DOR press release on
March revenues.
The Democrats' gloom-and-doom economic revenue runs contrary to positive
economic indicators:
"The Democrats are not concerned about essential
services. They only care about spending taxpayers' dollars. If they
really cared about state services, they would pass reforms, like the
merger of the Turnpike and MassHighway, which would save $230 million in
its first year, which could be redirected to priorities like local aid
for cities and towns," O'Brien said.
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The Boston Herald
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
A Boston Herald editorial
A Beacon Hill price for tax cut defeat
There ought to be a political price to pay for House members who voted
to kill the final phase of the voter-approved income tax rollback
yesterday. But who'll make them pay it?
"I'm putting these Democrats on notice today. In two years when you are
running for re-election, the Republican Party will be there to remind
the voters that today you voted to kill the tax rollback," said GOP
executive director Tim O'Brien of the 135-21 vote.
Yup, those are sure fightin' words, but forgive us if we advise
lawmakers not to polish their resumes just yet.
This is the same party which lost seats in the last election after
putting millions of dollars and Gov. Mitt Romney's prestige on the line.
So while we appreciate the partisan feistiness displayed by O'Brien, he
and Romney have a lot of ground to make up.
The good news is that ground is plenty fertile.
"The reason why the people felt that you could reduce the income tax is
because they were told misrepresentations about the fiscal affairs of
this state," said Rep. Michael Festa (D-Melrose). "People were told they
could have it all." In other words, voters were too stupid to see things
his way.
"Do we all chip in a little bit to get the services we all need or do we
cut back the services?" Rep. Ruth Balser (D-Newton) said in arguing for
a tax hike to 5.95 percent.
Chipping in for some is making the mortgage for others. But unless
Republican candidates are making this case it'll remain empty - and
unthreatening - rhetoric.
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