CLT UPDATE
Thursday, April 23, 2009
A Call To Action!
Not One Cent More!
Budget crisis? What budget crisis?
House lawmakers have already larded a $27.4 billion state budget with
dozens of pork-barrel amendments totaling millions of dollars despite a
crippling economy - including one $150,000 request to study the winter
moth.
“You see things like that and you wonder if people get that we’re in a
fiscal crisis,” said an outraged House Minority Leader Brad Jones
(R-North Reading).
The Boston Herald
Friday, April 17, 2009
Earmarks fill budget as tax hike mulled
"There is growing support for raising the sales tax," said
Representative Ruth B. Balser, a Newton Democrat. "We can spend one more penny
on the dollar when we purchase nonessential items and maintain our police force,
fire, and teachers. Or we can hold onto that one penny and make those drastic
cuts. That's a debate we're going to have."
A wide network that includes public health, social services, and public safety
advocates is planning a series of rallies, letter-writing campaigns, and phone
calls over the next week to lobby their local representatives to vote for new
taxes.
The Boston Globe
Friday, April 17, 2009
Sides dig in on sales tax hike
House Democrats lean toward 6%
A painful no-new-taxes budget purged of earmarks and pet
projects has infuriated some House lawmakers - prompting at least one violent
outburst against new House Speaker Robert DeLeo this week....
DeLeo’s bare-bones budget has had one predictable outcome, whetting the
appetites of rank-and-file lawmakers for a broad-based tax hike. State Rep.
Brian Wallace (D-South Boston) said there is a growing acceptance of some kind
of tax increase in the Legislature, because it’s the only way to restore their
pet projects.
Said Wallace: “We’re going to have to do something with taxes, I think. It’s not
a question of if, it’s a question of when.”
The Boston Herald
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Major budget cuts have state pols in violent uproar
Don’t you just love the way tax hike proponents always refer
to it as “just a penny” on the sales tax? Of course, “a penny” is actually a 20
percent hike in the state’s 5 percent tax. Sounds considerably more onerous that
way, doesn’t it?
And what we also know is that “the penny” would add up to about $750 million
taken from the pockets of state taxpayers. That’s a helluva lot of pennies.
A Boston Herald editorial
Saturday, April 18, 2009
It’s just a ‘penny’
Massachusetts police unions have won enough early support in
the House to restore $50 million to the budget and protect generous pay bonuses
for police officers who hold college degrees, securing a potential victory even
as groups representing the homeless and disadvantaged struggle for funding.
Police already have at least 81 representatives signed up to back their cause, a
majority of the 160-member House, assuring a win during next week's budget
debate unless House leaders try to reverse the tide.
The Boston Globe
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Police unions roll up votes to restore bonus
An effort to undo panel's $50m cut
Laying the groundwork for a possible gas-tax hike, House
Speaker Robert DeLeo said lawmakers could vote on taxes for the state’s
debt-ridden transportation system next week.
The Boston Herald
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Pols shift attention to road woes
Mull 19-cent gas-tax hike
Momentum has been building in the Legislature in recent days
to increase the 5 percent sales tax to at least 6 percent, even as business
representatives and state residents have been arguing that taxes should not be
raised during a recession....
In January, Patrick released a budget that included a host of tax increases, on
everything from candy and soft drinks to alcohol and hotel rooms.
Lawmakers have resisted his approach, saying that increasing a variety of taxes
by small increments could cause a greater political backlash than if one
broad-based tax were raised.
The Boston Globe
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Political momentum builds for state sales tax increase
Patrick does not rule out option
Advocates for new taxes and restoration of government
services on Wednesday offered a taste of what they say will come next week
during the House budget debate, as Gov. Deval Patrick and legislative leaders
wrangle over how to raise revenues....
A morning rally drew only about 40 people to the capitol; advocates later said
it was mainly a press conference to draw attention to a larger rally next week.
“This is just a little snapshot of what’s going to happen next Monday,” said
Myriam Ortiz, acting executive director of the Boston Parent Organizing
Network....
More than 100 individuals attended a separate rally inside the capitol
Wednesday. Recipients of mental health services ripped a proposed $50 million
reduction in Department of Mental Health spending, from $685 million last summer
to a proposed $635 million, and called for tax increases to preserve services.
“We need more revenue,” Laurie Martinelli, executive director of the National
Alliance on Mental Illness of Massachusetts, told attendees. “That has to be an
important part of your message. These are taxes folks.”
“There has to be an acceptance of the fact that we may have to raise revenue,”
added Sen. Jennifer Flanagan (D-Leominster), co-chair of the Legislature’s
Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse....
Beacon Hill leaders are mulling an increase in the 5 percent sales tax, the
state’s second largest source of tax revenues after the income tax....
At the morning rally on the State House steps, advocates from progressive groups
under the umbrella organization called “One Massachusetts” talked about the
importance of funding for jobs programs for young people and, spinning the
reform before revenue slogan that legislative leaders have adopted, called for
“reform and revenue.”
State House News Service
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tax talk fills Hill as House budget debate nears
House Speaker Robert DeLeo said Tuesday that House members
could decide on a “dedicated revenue source” to fund the state’s ailing
transportation system as early as next week, when the chamber debates its fiscal
2010 budget.
“It could happen,” he said. “It could be everything and anything.”
Speaking with reporters after an address to the Massachusetts Taxpayers
Foundation on the 36th floor of the State Street Corp. building, DeLeo said was
“open-minded” about a possible hike in the sales tax – one and two-cent hikes
have been proposed to raise either $750 million or $1.5 billion per year....
During remarks to the business-backed Taxpayers Foundation, DeLeo said, “We
can’t possibly tax our way out of the present economic issue,” echoing
declarations of House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charley Murphy....
Taxpayer Foundation President Michael Widmer criticized House and Senate
transportation system restructuring plans, saying they wouldn't produce
significant savings. He also said an apparent compromise being worked out by a
commission on municipal relief that aims to give cities and towns some control
over designing health plans for their workers "will have so many loops that it
won't impact much."
State House News Service
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
'Open-minded' on sales tax,
speaker readying for trans $$$ debate
The Massachusetts Republican Party issued the following
statement today criticizing the Democrat budget amendments that raise taxes on
the people of Massachusetts.
MassGOP Chairman Jennifer Nassour said, "Families are struggling these days, and
yet state government is still out of control. Last year, every Republican voted
against an irresponsible Democrat budget that spent too much. With Republican
leadership in the Massachusetts Legislature, we will restore fiscal discipline
and relieve the crushing burden of high taxes on Massachusetts families."
Massachusetts Republican Party
News Release - Wednesday, April 22, 2009
MassGOP slams Democrat tax hikes
Nassour to Legislature: Enough is enough
Usually an open mind is a good thing. But when the
mind is that of House Speaker Robert DeLeo and the subject is a sales
tax, well, not so much.
A Boston Herald editorial
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Keep the pitchforks ready
Call it the $8 billion conversation.
That's the size of the tax take Rep. Peter Kocot says the state could haul in
should it expand the reach of the sales tax to cover hundreds of services state
residents and businesses rely on every day - from haircuts and landscaping to
legal services.
Kocot proposed the expansion as an amendment to the fiscal 2010 House budget,
slated for debate next week....
The Florence Democat said his estimate on how much the state could collect was
based on a "tax expenditure" report Gov. Deval Patrick filed with his budget
proposal. That report notes that $6.5 billion goes uncollected because of
exemptions on "a range of services to individuals and businesses" and another $1
billion is foregone due to tax exemptions for "internet access services,
electronic mail services, electronic bulletin board services, web hosting
services or similar on-line computer services."
Another amendment, filed by Revenue Committee vice-chair Rep. Alice Peisch
(D-Wellesley), would apply the sales tax to gasoline, which is currently exempt
from the state's 5 percent levy. Gasoline is taxed separately at a rate of 23.5
cents per gallon....
The proposals are likely to arise on Monday, when the House takes up 60
amendments that would collectively raise the state's revenue collection by
billions....
Although lawmakers are loath to raise taxes amid a deepening
recession, a groundswell of support for new revenue has arisen from groups who
fear deep service cuts for the mentally ill, transportation, the elderly and
others. Groups have been holding more frequent protests and filling the inboxes
of lawmakers with calls for higher taxes.
State House News Service
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Reps look to expand reach of Sales Tax
Chip Ford's CLT
Commentary
Increase the income tax from 5.3% to 6.3%; increase
the sales tax from 5% to 6%; increase the state sales tax by 2%;
increase the gas tax by 29 cents to 50 cents per gallon; a 3% local
option meals tax; a 5% sales tax to services including email; Internet
sales; online banking; the "beer tax"; increasing the state room
occupancy tax rate 1% and increasing the state meals tax 1%; add a 1%
meals tax; add a 2% meals tax; a 10% sales tax on non-nutritious foods;
tax non-profit organizations at a rate of 25% of the commercial real
property rate; increases taxes on smoking tobacco at 90% of the
wholesale price of tobacco products; and increases the tax rate on
smokeless tobacco from 25% to 45%; increase the sales tax on candy; soft
drinks; and alcoholic beverages; add a 5% tax on alcoholic beverages
purchased from a liquor store; increase the retail excise tax to 7%;
eliminate the sales tax exemption on Alcohol; eliminating the exemption
for gasoline and special fuels from the tax on sales of certain tangible
and personal property; allow local option 3% meals tax and up to a 6%
rooms tax.
All the above and more are proposed budget amendments
coming up for debate in the House of Representatives beginning Monday.
Already the Gimme Lobby ground troops are marching
for more, more, more.
OneMassachusetts
-- the current incarnation of our old adversary, TEAM (Tax Everything
And More) -- is now providing the infantry grunts, which execute
the agenda of its high command, the
Massachusetts
Budget and Policy Center.
|
 |
|
Yawu Miller (left) of ONE
Massachusetts introduced one of the speakers yesterday at a
State House demonstration, where a coalition of groups urged
the Legislature to find new revenue sources. (Photo by
George Rizer/Boston Globe) |
"Although lawmakers are loath to raise taxes amid a
deepening recession, a groundswell of support for new revenue has arisen
from groups who fear deep service cuts for the mentally ill,
transportation, the elderly and others. Groups have been holding more
frequent protests and filling the inboxes of lawmakers with calls for
higher taxes."
The House Ways and Means committee zeroed out the
Quinn Bill in its proposed budget. It took only days for the
police unions to kill that reform, intimidate the House profiles in
courage to drop it from the "reforms."
CLT has sent a memo to each member of the House of
Representatives opposing any new taxes. As usual, the problem
isn't too little revenue -- it's way too much spending. We warned,
when revenue for years was pouring in over the transom that, come the
next cyclical economic downturn the gorged state budget would not be
sustainable. The pols just kept spending as if a day of reckoning
this time would never arrive.
The 1989 "temporary" income tax hike still has not
been returned to its historic 5% as promised back then -- despite even the
voters' mandate in 2000 that it was past time. Just last year the
Legislature and Gov. Patrick jacked up
cigarette
and
business taxes by another $845 million, but that's still not enough
to satisfy their spending addiction. The pols just kept spending,
and when there still wasn't enough to satiate their appetites,
they borrowed more and spent that too.
The day of reckoning is here.
No new taxes! Not one cent more.
Legislators are being assaulted by the Gimme Lobby
and its outstretched hands -- one for a handout, the other reaching for
our pockets. Our elected representatives and senators need to hear
from you. We don't want them to say they didn't hear any
opposition!
It's time to contact your state representative and
senator.
Tell them "Not one cent more" in taxes!
Tell them you already pay more than too much.
>> FIND YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE & SENATOR HERE <<
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|
Chip Ford |
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The Boston Herald
Friday, April 17, 2009
Earmarks fill budget as tax hike mulled
By Hillary Chabot
Budget crisis? What budget crisis?
House lawmakers have already larded a $27.4 billion state budget with
dozens of pork-barrel amendments totaling millions of dollars despite a
crippling economy - including one $150,000 request to study the winter
moth.
“You see things like that and you wonder if people get that we’re in a
fiscal crisis,” said an outraged House Minority Leader Brad Jones
(R-North Reading).
More than 60 amendments poured in to the House clerk’s office yesterday,
including $100,000 for a city stage in Springfield and another $100,000
for video cameras in the same city.
The amendments come a day after several thousand angry citizens
protested at “tea parties” in Boston about irresponsible federal and
state spending.
“How can you suggest a tax like that when you’re asking for things like
(these earmarks)? Especially when families are struggling right now,”
said Corie Whalen, 22, the Simmons College senior who helped organize
the tea parties.
Rep. Matt Patrick (D-Falmouth) who requested a University of
Massachusetts study on how to eliminate the pesky winter moth, didn’t
return a call for comment.
The amendments come after a House budget filed by Speaker Robert DeLeo
(D-Winthrop) axed 55 line items and cut chunks from state departments,
including a $45 million for special education services and $88 million
in public safety grants and services.
Municipal leaders demanded tax hikes to make up for a $424 million loss
in local aid yesterday, while several lawmakers huddled to discuss those
hikes. Among the ideas floated were raising a penny on the sales tax to
local options, such as a 1 percent increase on the meals tax.
Other amendments included:
A bid to reverse increased health insurance payments made by state
employees, costing at least $25 million.
Boosting adult education by $2 million.
Expanding the 5-cent deposit fee for water, iced tea and sports drinks
to bring in up to $20 million.
Legislators weren’t all tax-and-spend yesterday, however. Senate
President Therese Murray asked members and their staff to consider
taking furloughs to bail the state out of its financial downfall.
Minority leader Jones also plans to file an amendment making furloughs
mandatory under a tiered system. Lawmakers or staffers earning more than
$100,000 would take 9 unpaid days, he said.
“We feel obligated to show that we can come up with reforms without
raising taxes,” Jones said.
The Boston Globe
Friday, April 17, 2009
Sides dig in on sales tax hike
House Democrats lean toward 6%
By Matt Viser
Small-town mayors, liberal legislators, and deeply worried advocates for
the poor launched impassioned campaigns yesterday to increase the
Massachusetts sales tax to offset severe budget cuts, but business
groups and residents immediately warned that Beacon Hill leaders will
pay politically if they raise taxes in the midst of a historic
recession.
While legislative leaders remained noncommittal, nearly three dozen
House Democrats met behind closed doors yesterday to hammer out budget
amendments, with consensus beginning to develop around pushing a sales
tax hike and new local-option taxes. The tactic most commonly bandied
about has been increasing the state's 5 percent sales tax to 6 percent.
Resistance to the idea was swift and strong.
"It would be disastrous for the retail sector," said David Didriksen,
who owns Willow Books & Café in Acton and is a member of the board of
directors of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts. "To me that's
the worst idea since New Coke. At the very time we need to have the
least number of hurdles we can, they're going to drive consumers to New
Hampshire and the Web." New Hampshire has no sales tax; sales taxes are
not collected on most Internet sales.
The growing tax debate is sure to complicate the Legislature's
consideration of another tax increase in coming weeks, a
19-cents-a-gallon gas tax hike proposed by Governor Deval Patrick.
Raising the sales tax from 5 cents on the dollar to 6 cents would
represent a 20 percent increase in the state sales tax and would produce
about $750 million in new money for state coffers, according to some
estimates.
"There is growing support for raising the sales tax," said
Representative Ruth B. Balser, a Newton Democrat. "We can spend one more
penny on the dollar when we purchase nonessential items and maintain our
police force, fire, and teachers. Or we can hold onto that one penny and
make those drastic cuts. That's a debate we're going to have."
A wide network that includes public health, social services, and public
safety advocates is planning a series of rallies, letter-writing
campaigns, and phone calls over the next week to lobby their local
representatives to vote for new taxes.
House lawmakers this week released a $27.4 billion budget proposal that
includes steep cuts in nearly every area touched by state government and
would impose the greatest reduction in year-to-year spending in recent
memory, with no new taxes. House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo has not taken a
position on raising taxes and has said he would let House members debate
the issue freely.
Senate President Therese Murray told reporters this week that she was
still open to a sales tax hike, but added that most have ruled out any
discussion of increasing the income tax.
"The income tax, I would suggest is dead on arrival," Representative
Charles A. Murphy, the House chairman of Ways and Means, said yesterday
in an interview. "Beyond that, I would say all options exist."
Patrick has been opposed to raising broad-based taxes such as general
sales or income, a stance his spokesman said yesterday he still held.
"I have ruled it out, but also I don't want to be a jerk with the
Legislature," Patrick said earlier this month during a WTKK-FM radio
appearance.
Advocates say the case for a broad-based tax could not be stronger, with
the state in desperate need of more revenue to offset deep cuts to
social service programs. Critics of an increase say it makes little
sense to discourage commerce at a time when the federal government is
trying to encourage spending.
For a 37-inch plasma television, on sale now at Best Buy for $588, the
sales tax would increase by nearly $6. Consumers would have to pay $15
more for a $1,500 Apple computer.
The Beacon Hill Institute released a study yesterday suggesting that
increasing the sales tax would cause consumers to spend less money,
resulting in 10,182 job losses and $41.3 million less in spending by
businesses.
Still, Massachusetts has one of the lowest sales tax rates in the
country. The state passed a 3 percent sales tax in 1966, and it was
increased a decade later to 5 percent, where it has remained.
Shoppers and retailers at Faneuil Hall were evenly divided yesterday
over whether lawmakers ought to consider a 1 percent hike in the sales
tax, but they doubted that it would significantly change shopping
patterns.
"I'm not for any more taxes. I've just about had it," said Jane Folkman,
a Medfield resident who was paying $40.95 to purchase three pig
figurines at Boston Pewter Co. (she would have needed 39 cents more if
the sales tax were 1 percent higher). "I have a better idea. I think we
should reduce the amount of representatives we have in state
government."
Meanwhile, mayors from across Massachusetts yesterday blasted state
lawmakers for cutting their funding, not providing new tools for them to
raise revenue, and so far not pushing for broad-based tax increases.
"It is a pass-the-buck budget riddled in hypocrisy," Mayor Robert J.
Dolan of Melrose said at a news conference attended by nearly 40 local
officials at the Parker House in Boston.
While education aid would remain at this year's level, the portion of
state aid dedicated to public safety, road maintenance, and other local
services would be slashed an additional 25 percent. If the House budget
is adopted, general local aid to cities and towns would have dropped by
$426 million over two years.
"In 26 years as mayor, I have never seen such a lack of leadership on
Beacon Hill," said Mayor John Barrett of North Adams. "When times are
tough, we need leadership. Any fool can cut budgets."
John C. Drake of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
The Boston Herald
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Major budget cuts have state pols in violent uproar
By Hillary Chabot
A painful no-new-taxes budget purged of earmarks and pet projects has
infuriated some House lawmakers - prompting at least one violent
outburst against new House Speaker Robert DeLeo this week.
State Rep. Christopher Fallon (D-Malden) exploded at DeLeo during a
Wednesday evening fund-raiser in Stoneham - jabbing him in the chest
with his finger because he was upset that $50 million for the
controversial Quinn Bill was cut, according to two lawmakers who
attended the event.
“He was really screaming, and he went right at (DeLeo),” said one
lawmaker who requested anonymity, adding that onlookers were
“horrified.”
The alleged incident highlights the raging tempers surrounding the $27.4
billion budget, which cuts several state services to the bone. Mayors
and city managers also unleashed their fury on House leadership this
week after a proposed $424 million cut to local aid.
“I think we’re going to see more of that come budget week,” said state
Rep. Jennifer Callahan (D-Sutton), who added the budget process wasn’t
as transparent as it should have been.
“Making cuts like this, without giving adequate information or
explanation about why, makes everyone frustrated,” Callahan said.
Before the Quinn Bill funding was eliminated in the House budget, Fallon
was working to restore an $8 million cut in Gov. Deval Patrick’s budget.
The Quinn legislation was enacted in 1970 to pay police who further
their education.
A spokesman for DeLeo declined to comment, and calls to Fallon were not
returned.
DeLeo’s bare-bones budget has had one predictable outcome, whetting the
appetites of rank-and-file lawmakers for a broad-based tax hike. State
Rep. Brian Wallace (D-South Boston) said there is a growing acceptance
of some kind of tax increase in the Legislature, because it’s the only
way to restore their pet projects.
Said Wallace: “We’re going to have to do something with taxes, I think.
It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when.”
The Boston Herald
Saturday, April 18, 2009
A Boston Herald editorial
It’s just a ‘penny’
Don’t you just love the way tax hike proponents always refer to it as
“just a penny” on the sales tax? Of course, “a penny” is actually a 20
percent hike in the state’s 5 percent tax. Sounds considerably more
onerous that way, doesn’t it?
And what we also know is that “the penny” would add up to about $750
million taken from the pockets of state taxpayers. That’s a helluva lot
of pennies.
This week the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University ran the
numbers through its rather sophisticated model for measuring the broader
economic impact of such tax hikes. The result was not pretty.
That 20 percent increase in the sales tax no doubt will be filed as an
amendment to the House budget on which debate is expected to begin April
27. That’s because for many lawmakers hitting up the taxpayers is easier
than saying no to public employee unions (who would be asked to pay a
greater portion of their health insurance under the proposed House
budget) or cops (who would lose Quinn Bill pay hikes for college
degrees).
But the Beacon Hill Institute study found that the 20 percent sales tax
hike would “destroy 10,182 private sector jobs and reduce investment by
$41.31 million per year. The average person would lose approximately
$369 a year in wages.”
The tax, of course, is the most regressive and would hit low income
families hardest. Also bearing the brunt of the impact would be small
retailers along the New Hampshire border - already an endangered species
- as Massachusetts residents head north to avoid taxes on computers and
a host of high-ticket electronics.
The Institute noted that the state was already losing about 2.2 percent
to 3.5 percent in sales taxes to Internet sales. And that Amazon.com’s
2008 holiday season sales increased by 16 percent over the previous
year, while Massachusetts’ sales tax revenue dropped 8.6 percent for the
same period.
There may be nothing that can be done to stop that kind of bleeding, but
there’s no need to make it worse either. And that’s what a sales tax
hike would do.
The Boston Globe
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Police unions roll up votes to restore bonus
An effort to undo panel's $50m cut
By Matt Viser
Massachusetts police unions have won enough early support in the House
to restore $50 million to the budget and protect generous pay bonuses
for police officers who hold college degrees, securing a potential
victory even as groups representing the homeless and disadvantaged
struggle for funding.
Police already have at least 81 representatives signed up to back their
cause, a majority of the 160-member House, assuring a win during next
week's budget debate unless House leaders try to reverse the tide.
The so-called Quinn Bill, passed in 1970, awards thousands of dollars in
extra money to police officers who have earned college degrees, and it
has long been a source of complaints about unfair and expensive union
benefits.
The rapid success by the powerful police unions, scored just a few days
after the House Ways and Means Committee unveiled the $50 million cut
Wednesday, stands in contrast to the uphill battle facing social-service
advocates who are lobbying lawmakers to restore funding to fight
homelessness, provide home care to the elderly, and feed the needy.
A wide network that includes public health, social services, and other
advocates is planning a rally tomorrow at the State House to push for
more taxes and restored funding to their programs. Many lawmakers have
been sympathetic to their pleas, but there has been nowhere near the
groundswell that developed for the police unions.
House members who signed on to two amendments to restore the money said
the full range of police compensation and education incentives needed to
be protected during a recession.
"I don't know if you can emphasize enough the impacts of having an
educated police force," said Representative Christopher G. Fallon, a
Malden Democrat and lead sponsor of the amendment to restore funding.
"I don't think the state, given this economic time, should be telling
people: 'By the way we're going to be cutting your pay. We're gong to be
cutting an incentive,' " he said.
House budget writers stunned police unions last week when their budget
proposal completely eliminated funding for the Quinn Bill. Union
officials knew the money would probably be reduced - Governor Deval
Patrick had proposed cutting spending on the program to $42.2 million -
but they did not expect it to be scrapped altogether.
"It just doesn't seem fair; it's not fair to just wipe it right out of
the budget like that," said Thomas Nee, president of the Boston Police
Patrolmen's Association. "Certainly it was a surprise. The many friends
we have in the Legislature see through the fundamental unfairness of it
all."
The Quinn bill, which was passed in 1970, supplies salary boosts to
police officers who earn a law enforcement, criminal justice, or law
degree. The officer, who must attend a college approved by the state,
gets a 10 percent boost in his base pay for an associate's degree; 20
percent for a bachelor's degree; and 25 percent for a master's or law
degree.
The program typically costs taxpayers about $100 million a year, split
equally between the state and local communities where the officers work.
The impact of eliminating state funding would depend on individual union
contracts. In some cases, it would mean that police officers would take
a pay cut. But in others, local taxpayers would have to pick up the
state's share and pay the full amount of the bonuses.
The union effort to restore the funding is providing a test of House
Speaker Robert A. DeLeo's leadership. He has pledged to allow House
members more latitude to decide issues for themselves, instead of
attempting to strong-arm votes. His next move could signal what
direction he and the Legislature will take this year as pensions and
other special benefits for public employees have become the focus of
public ire. DeLeo declined requests for comment yesterday.
Representative Charles A. Murphy, chairman of the House Committee on
Ways and Means, said that "we'll have a debate on the issue," but that
other programs may have to be cut if the Quinn Bill funding is restored.
"The practical effect is for us to fund $52 million; that's $52 million
not going to, well, pick a program," Murphy said yesterday. "It all
comes down to: 'How you going to pay for it, folks? What are you going
to cut so you can restore it?' The whole thing has been a balancing
act."
The number of lawmakers who signed onto the amendment demonstrates the
political clout that police unions still carry. Within two days, the
unions were able to get 80 House lawmakers, including several
Republicans, to sign onto two amendments that would fund the program at
$51.2 million.
A third amendment, filed by an 81st lawmaker - Representative John H.
Rogers, a Norwood Democrat - would establish funding at $50.2 million.
Rogers has no cosponsors.
There have been several unsuccessful attempts to change the Quinn Bill.
In 2001, for example, the House abandoned an overhaul of the system
after intense lobbying by police interests. In 2003, there was an effort
to provide officers with lump sums, rather than a percentage of their
base pay, but the changes collapsed when there were disagreements
between legislators and Governor Mitt Romney.
The amendments to restore funding to the Quinn Bill are among 978 filed
by last Friday's amendment-filing deadline; the overall number of
amendments, mostly requests for local funding for pet projects, was down
about 35 percent from last year, reflecting more realistic expectations
among lawmakers.
"It's a direct result of the budget downfall," said Representative
Martin J. Walsh, a Dorchester Democrat, filing half the number of
amendments he has in the past. "It's definitely due to the economy. I
don't want to give anyone false expectations by filing an amendment only
to have it fail or have to withdraw it."
While the numbers may be lower, lawmakers have still submitted a wide
range of local earmarks.
Also, as expected, House members filed a wide array of tax-related
amendments, including raising the meals taxes, sales taxes, and the gas
tax; efforts to get new taxes have not yet won broad support in the
Legislature.
The Boston Herald
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Pols shift attention to road woes
Mull 19-cent gas-tax hike
By Hillary Chabot
Laying the groundwork for a possible gas-tax hike, House Speaker Robert
DeLeo said lawmakers could vote on taxes for the state’s debt-ridden
transportation system next week.
There will be a transportation plan with a dedicated revenue source,
DeLeo said after speaking at the 76th anniversary of the Massachusetts
Taxpayers Foundation. He added he hopes to avoid toll increases.
The announcement came the same day MBTA General Manager Dan Grabauskas
said he’s slashing 75 positions and asking employees to take furloughs
to stave off massive fare hikes and service cuts triggered by a whopping
$160 million deficit.
The staff cuts will save between $4.5 million and $6 million, he said.
“I have to start doing something. Things ain’t gonna get any better,”
said Grabauskas, who blamed the cuts on a drop in ridership, advertising
on the T, and expected union raises and pension contributions.
The MBTA and Massachusetts Turnpike Authority have been struggling with
debt as they wait to see if lawmakers will approve Gov. Deval Patrick’s
plan to increase the gas tax by 19 cents.
Grabauskas also blasted recent media leaks emphasizing massive MBTA
service cuts and fare hikes as, “an attempt to manipulate the public and
the Legislature.”
Some accused the Pike of orchestrating a seven-mile Easter traffic jam
by cutting toll-taker overtime in an attempt to win support for the gas
tax.
The 75 positions will be mainly managerial non-union workers, but
employees working in the customer service call center and the T police
will also face cuts.
All employees were asked to take a five-day furlough if they make
$100,000 a year or more and a three-day furlough if they make less than
$100,000.
Grabauskas also announced reforms to eliminate the appearance of
patronage at the T, by preventing MBTA retirees from later working for
the department under a personal services contract.
Material from the State House News service was used in this report.
The Boston Globe
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Political momentum builds for state sales tax increase
Patrick does not rule out option
By Matt Viser
Governor Deval Patrick expressed deep reservations yesterday, but would
not rule out signing onto a proposed sales tax increase that will be
debated in the House next week.
"That's not where I am," Patrick said at a State House press conference.
The governor said he preferred his proposed array of new taxes on candy,
alcohol, meals, and hotels.
"Our proposals are where I am," he said. "I am very, very reluctant in
times like these to ask as much as we are asking, and certainly more
than we are asking."
Momentum has been building in the Legislature in recent days to increase
the 5 percent sales tax to at least 6 percent, even as business
representatives and state residents have been arguing that taxes should
not be raised during a recession.
But top lawmakers, who have remained publicly noncommittal, began
discussing a sales tax increase several weeks before the House released
a budget last week with deep cuts, according to officials briefed on
behind-the-scenes wrangling.
House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, Senate President Therese Murray, and the
chairmen of both the House and Senate ways and means committees began
discussions of the topic in late February or early March, according to
State House officials who were briefed on the content of their
discussions.
The sales tax was brought up among several other options in an effort to
avoid the governor's proposal for increasing the gas tax by 19 cents per
gallon, the officials said.
One scenario that could be debated in the House next week is raising the
sales tax to pay for transportation needs, instead of the gas tax,
lawmakers said.
"The governor put the gas tax on the table," said Senator Steven
Panagiotakos, chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. "The
question was what do other tax options raise? [The sales tax] is another
option on the table."
DeLeo said earlier this week that he is "open-minded" on the subject of
a sales tax increase. But he has done little so far to build support for
a tax hike among House members, even leaving some members of his
leadership team guessing about his intentions.
He has called two meetings tomorrow, one with his
leadership team and one with committee chairs, when he is expected to
discuss raising taxes.
DeLeo's approach is softer than the tack taken by previous House
speakers, who would often twist arms to get their way, said
Representative Jay Kaufman, a Lexington Democrat and chairman of the
Committee on Revenue.
"In some ways, it's sloppier and more nerve-racking and uncertain than
how we've done it in the past," he said. "But it's . . . a lot more
democratic."
Taking a vote to raise taxes is one of the most politically difficult
that lawmakers can face and comes with a range of pitfalls.
If Patrick vetoed a sales tax, for example, the House would need a
potentially insurmountable two-thirds majority to override it.
And if the Senate went in a different direction, it would leave DeLeo
and House members on record as supporting a sales tax increase but with
no budget-balancing solution to show for it.
Murray, echoing comments made earlier in the week by DeLeo, said
yesterday that the sales tax was "one of the things on the table" and
that the only tax increase that had been ruled out was an increase in
the income tax.
Patrick, who has proposed a variety of other tax increases, would not
answer when asked if he would veto a sales tax increase if it were
approved by House and Senate lawmakers.
"I want to engage with them directly, rather than, with due respect,
through the media," Patrick said.
And while officials said the House and Senate leaders began discussing a
sales tax increase two months ago, Patrick said he has not been
significantly involved in those talks.
"We have not talked about this in any depth," he said.
In January, Patrick released a budget that included a host of tax
increases, on everything from candy and soft drinks to alcohol and hotel
rooms.
Lawmakers have resisted his approach, saying that increasing a variety
of taxes by small increments could cause a greater political backlash
than if one broad-based tax were raised.
"You don't want people to think you're raising a tax a week,"
Representative Daniel Bosley, a North Adams Democrat, said in an
interview. "If there is any coalescing around here, it's for a sales
tax."
Public school students and advocates for community service programs
rallied at the State House yesterday in support of a slew of new or
increased taxes to protect cherished services.
"The cuts in the House budget are unsustainable," said David Martinez, a
17-year-old student at Roxbury's New Mission High School. "We urge you
to think of the future, my future, and give the cities the rights to
levy local options taxes as needed."
There was little agreement on which taxes to raise, however. School
advocates urged lawmakers to let cities and towns raise taxes locally on
meals and hotel rooms.
Healthcare reform advocates pressed for lifting exemptions on taxes on
candy and alcohol and raising taxes on smokeless tobacco. An advocate
for foreclosure intervention called for an income tax hike.
John C. Drake of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
State House News Service
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tax talk fills Hill as House budger debate nears
By Gintautas Dumcius and Michael Norton
Advocates for new taxes and restoration of government services on
Wednesday offered a taste of what they say will come next week during
the House budget debate, as Gov. Deval Patrick and legislative leaders
wrangle over how to raise revenues.
Senate President Therese Murray said Wednesday that whatever new
revenues are incorporated into the fiscal 2010 budget, the anticipated
funds will not cover the holes created by declining state revenues.
Citing fiscal 2009 revenues that continue to decline, Murray told
reporters at an Earth Day press conference with Patrick that the
consensus revenue figure agreed on for fiscal year 2010 will have to be
adjusted.
“It’s not based on reality. We are not at 19.53 [billion] any longer,”
she said. “So if we have another hearing, and if those numbers come in
lower – and we think when April numbers come in we’re going to have to
do that – then there’s going to be a stark reality: No matter what tax
you increase, it’s not going to fill in the hole. It’s just too deep.”
A morning rally drew only about 40 people to the capitol; advocates
later said it was mainly a press conference to draw attention to a
larger rally next week. “This is just a little snapshot of what’s going
to happen next Monday,” said Myriam Ortiz, acting executive director of
the Boston Parent Organizing Network.
The House begins consideration of a $27.4 billion budget by first taking
up revenue-raising amendments on Monday. About 60 of the 978 amendments
filed last week deal with raising revenues, according to lawmakers.
More than 100 individuals attended a separate rally inside the capitol
Wednesday. Recipients of mental health services ripped a proposed $50
million reduction in Department of Mental Health spending, from $685
million last summer to a proposed $635 million, and called for tax
increases to preserve services.
“We need more revenue,” Laurie Martinelli, executive director of the
National Alliance on Mental Illness of Massachusetts, told attendees.
“That has to be an important part of your message. These are taxes
folks.”
“There has to be an acceptance of the fact that we may have to raise
revenue,” added Sen. Jennifer Flanagan (D-Leominster), co-chair of the
Legislature’s Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse.
Referencing those who rely on state-supported services, Flanagan said,
“These people are holding on by a thread.”
Asked after her remarks about specific revenue-raising ideas she
support, Flanagan said lawmakers have to look at the numbers involved.
“It’s all part of a conversation,” she said.
Beacon Hill leaders are mulling an increase in the 5 percent sales tax,
the state’s second largest source of tax revenues after the income tax.
Patrick reiterated his discomfort with an increase in the sales tax and
other broad-based taxes, instead pointing to his proposals to raise the
gas tax by 19 cents and impose taxes on alcohol, candy and sugary
drinks. He has also proposed lifting a tax exemption for
telecommunications companies’ poles, and allowing cities and towns to
increase meals and lodging taxes.
“That’s not where I am. Our proposals are where I am,” he told reporters
when asked about a sales tax increase. “And as I said, I’m very, very
reluctant in times like these to ask as much as we are asking and
certainly more than we are asking.”
Patrick said he and legislative leaders have not talked about the sales
tax “in any depth,” and with Murray standing behind him, declined to
negotiate through reporters when asked about vetoing a budget with a
sales tax increase.
Asked about the House’s revenue debate, Rep. William Straus (D-Mattapoiset)
said, “I don’t think anyone knows what the outcome will be.”
The co-chair of the Joint Committee on the Environment, Natural
Resources and Agriculture said House leaders have “left it to members”
to decide. “Everyone is doing their own soul-searching and examination,”
he said, adding that there was “no overwhelming sentiment” for raising
broad-based taxes.
Republicans on Wednesday slammed House amendments that raise taxes,
issuing a list of “Terrible 22” amendments in a release.
At the morning rally on the State House steps, advocates from
progressive groups under the umbrella organization called “One
Massachusetts” talked about the importance of funding for jobs programs
for young people and, spinning the reform before revenue slogan that
legislative leaders have adopted, called for “reform and revenue.”
“We need proper mental facilities. We need education. We need transit
revenue,” said Taisha O’Bryant, a Roxbury resident who is a member of
the T Riders Union. “These people behind me in my House have the means
to do so. This is what we vote for you for.”
O’Bryant pointed to the MBTA, where service cuts and fare hikes are
under consideration as the agency struggles with major debts, slumping
ridership numbers and tax collections, and high energy prices.
“If the services do get cut, I don’t know what we’re going to do. I
don’t have a car,” she said. “We don’t need cuts. We need revenue.”
David Martinez, a 17-year-old from Hyde Park, voiced support for the
proposal allowing cities and towns to increase meals and lodging taxes.
“If you think about it, it’s not that bad,” Martinez said. “You’re
helping out your education in the long run.”
Republicans argued residents shouldn’t be burdened with additional taxes
during a recession.
“Families are struggling these days, and yet state government is still
out of control. Last year, every Republican voted against an
irresponsible Democrat budget that spent too much,” Massachusetts GOP
chairwoman Jennifer Nassour said in a statement. “With Republican
leadership in the Massachusetts Legislature, we will restore fiscal
discipline and relieve the crushing burden of high taxes on
Massachusetts families.”
In a release, the state Republican Party singled out 22 tax-raising
amendments the House may consider next week, including an amendment from
Rep. Peter Kocot (D-Northampton) expanding the sales to services
including e-mail, Internet sales and online banking; an amendment from
Rep. Kay Khan (D-Newton) to increase the gas tax to 50 cents per gallon,
a 29-cent hike; an amendment from Rep. Martha Walz (D-Boston) to
increase the gas tax by 25 cents and peg future increases to inflation;
and an amendment from Rep. Matt Patrick (D-Falmouth) increasing the
state income tax to 6.3 percent from 5.3 percent.
State House News Service
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
'Open-minded' on sales tax,
speaker readying for trans $$$ debate
By Kyle Cheney
House Speaker Robert DeLeo said Tuesday that House members could decide
on a “dedicated revenue source” to fund the state’s ailing
transportation system as early as next week, when the chamber debates
its fiscal 2010 budget.
“It could happen,” he said. “It could be everything and anything.”
Speaking with reporters after an address to the Massachusetts Taxpayers
Foundation on the 36th floor of the State Street Corp. building, DeLeo
said was “open-minded” about a possible hike in the sales tax – one and
two-cent hikes have been proposed to raise either $750 million or $1.5
billion per year. He also said he would insist that any discussion of
expanded gambling come first on racetrack slots before destination
resort casinos.
Describing the state’s transportation system as on the verge of
bankruptcy, DeLeo reiterated a guarantee that a new revenue stream would
be in place to support the state’s transportation system by July 1. He
said the revenues could include portions of a sales tax hike, local
option taxes “and everything else in between.”
During remarks to the business-backed Taxpayers Foundation, DeLeo said,
“We can’t possibly tax our way out of the present economic issue,”
echoing declarations of House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charley
Murphy. DeLeo said creating jobs is "how we're going to get out of the
economic morass we're presently in."
He also said he was exploring unpaid furloughs of between three and five
days for House members.
At the outset, DeLeo set the tone of his remarks with some dark humor.
“Some days I feel like jumping off of a place like this,” he said,
glancing toward the large glass window overlooking the city. “If anyone
here is waiting for good news, you can leave now.”
The speaker said proposals regarding regionalization, health care
planning power and local option taxes for municipalities would likely be
debated in the Legislature. He said that as a former selectman, he
understood the significance of health care costs for cities and towns.
He called it “unacceptable” that only 27 municipalities had opted into
the state Group Insurance Commission under a law designed to pave the
way for municipal enrollees.
“We cannot allow money to be wasted away,” he said.
Regarding regionalization, DeLeo said cities and towns should avoid
considering themselves independent “fiefdoms” and work together on
services like education and 911 dispatch services.
Taxpayer Foundation President Michael Widmer criticized House and Senate
transportation system restructuring plans, saying they wouldn't produce
significant savings. He also said an apparent compromise being worked
out by a commission on municipal relief that aims to give cities and
towns some control over designing health plans for their workers "will
have so many loops that it won't impact much."
Widmer said a report was forthcoming from the foundation on the impact
of health insurance access laws on the costs of health care. The report,
he said, shows that discussions of massive cost increases are "a myth."
"The additional costs have been very modest indeed," Widmer said.
The Massachusetts Republican Party
News Release
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
MassGOP slams Democrat tax hikes
Nassour to Legislature: Enough is enough
The Massachusetts Republican Party issued the following statement today
criticizing the Democrat budget amendments that raise taxes on the
people of Massachusetts.
MassGOP Chairman Jennifer Nassour said, "Families are struggling these
days, and yet state government is still out of control. Last year, every
Republican voted against an irresponsible Democrat budget that spent too
much. With Republican leadership in the Massachusetts Legislature, we
will restore fiscal discipline and relieve the crushing burden of high
taxes on Massachusetts families."
"The Terrible 22" - 22 Budget Amendments That Raise Taxes On
Massachusetts Families:
= Kocot, Peter V.
(D-Northampton) - Has filed an amendment to add a 3% local option meals
tax (Amendment #26)
= Kocot, Peter V. (D-Northampton) - Has filed
an amendment to add a 5% sales tax to services including email, Internet
sales, online banking (Amendment #28)
= Clark, Katherine M. (D-Melrose) - Has filed
an amendment to add the "beer tax" (Amendment #131)
= Bowles, Bill (D-Attleboro) - Has filed an
amendment increasing the state room occupancy tax rate 1% and increasing
the state meals tax 1% (Amendment #201)
= Scaccia, Angelo M. (D-Boston) - Has filed
an amendment to add a 1% meals tax (Amendment #225)
= Scaccia, Angelo M. (D-Boston) - Has filed
an amendment to add a 2% meals tax (Amendment #226)
= Sanchez, Jeffrey (D-Boston) - Has filed an
amendment that levies a 10% sales tax on non-nutritious foods collected
monthly by the Department Of Revenue, an $8 per gallon sold levy on
wholesale dealers, and 80 cent levies on powdered soft drinks and liquid
soft drinks sold (Amendment #348)
= Moran, Michael J. (D-Boston) - Has filed an
amendment to tax non-profit organizations at a rate of 25% of the
commercial real property rate (Amendment #413)
= Hecht, Jonathan (D-Watertown) - Has filed
an amendment that expands the definition of smokeless tobacco products,
increases taxes on smoking tobacco at 90% of the wholesale price of
tobacco products, and increases the tax rate on smokeless tobacco from
25% to 45% (Amendment #499)
= Atkins, Cory (D-Concord) - Has filed an
amendment to increase the sales tax on candy, soft drinks, and alcoholic
beverages (Amendment #521)
= Khan, Kay (D-Newton) - Has filed an
amendment to add a 5% tax on alcoholic beverages purchased from a liquor
store (Amendment #534)
= Wolf, Alice K. (D-Cambridge) - Has filed an
amendment to increase the retail excise tax to 7% (Amendment # 561)
= Malia, Elizabeth A. (D-Boston) - Has filed
an amendment to eliminate the sales tax exemption on Alcohol (Amendment
#584)
= Patrick, Matthew (D-Falmouth) - Has filed
an amendment to increase the income tax from 5.3% to 6.3% (Amendment
#635)
= Patrick, Matthew (D-Falmouth) - Has filed
an amendment to increase the state sales tax to 6% (Amendment #639)
= Brownsberger, William N. (D-Belmont) and
Peisch, Alice H. (D-Wellesley) - Have filed amendments eliminating the
exemption for gasoline and special fuels from the tax on sales of
certain tangible and personal property (Amendment #659 and #835)
= Khan, Kay (D-Newton) - Has filed an
amendment to increase the gas tax by 29 cents to 50 cents per gallon
(Amendment #676)
= Balser, Ruth B. (D-Newton) - Has filed an
amendment to allow local option 3% meals tax and up to a 6% rooms tax
(Amendment #698)
= Balser, Ruth B. (D-Newton) - Has filed an
amendment to increase the state sales tax from 5% to 6% (Amendment #699)
= Sciortino, Carl M., Jr. (D-Somerville) -
Has filed an amendment to removes exemptions on classifications of
corporations that will effectively require more businesses to be subject
to the corporate excise tax of 10.5% (Amendment #712)
= Sciortino, Carl M., Jr. (D-Somerville) -
Has filed an amendment to increase the state sales tax by 2% (Amendment
#717)
= Walz, Martha M. (D-Boston) - Has filed an
amendment that increases the state gas tax by 25 cents to 46 cents per
gallon effective July 1, 2009. Pegs future increases to inflation.
(Amendment #892)
The Boston Herald
Thursday, April 23, 2009
A Boston Herald editorial
Keep the pitchforks ready
Usually an open mind is a good thing. But when the mind is that of House
Speaker Robert DeLeo and the subject is a sales tax, well, not so much.
Now the speaker has already called any increase in the state income tax
“dead on arrival” - a very good thing indeed (unless you happen to own a
pitchfork franchise). But a sales tax will cost jobs, it’s that simple.
And the speaker needs to keep that in mind too, even if he has to save
fellow House members from their own worst instincts.
State House News Service
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Reps look to expand reach of Sales Tax
By Kyle Cheney
Call it the $8 billion conversation.
That's the size of the tax take Rep. Peter Kocot says the state could
haul in should it expand the reach of the sales tax to cover hundreds of
services state residents and businesses rely on every day - from
haircuts and landscaping to legal services.
Kocot proposed the expansion as an amendment to the fiscal 2010 House
budget, slated for debate next week. He hopes the proposal will "start a
discussion" on the various exemptions that tamp down the state's revenue
collections "in a year where the economy is suffering, middle class
families are having a tough time making ends meet."
The Florence Democat said his estimate on how much the state could
collect was based on a "tax expenditure" report Gov. Deval Patrick filed
with his budget proposal. That report notes that $6.5 billion goes
uncollected because of exemptions on "a range of services to individuals
and businesses" and another $1 billion is foregone due to tax exemptions
for "internet access services, electronic mail services, electronic
bulletin board services, web hosting services or similar on-line
computer services."
Another amendment, filed by Revenue Committee vice-chair Rep. Alice
Peisch (D-Wellesley), would apply the sales tax to gasoline, which is
currently exempt from the state's 5 percent levy. Gasoline is taxed
separately at a rate of 23.5 cents per gallon.
"I filed it to keep open the options with respect to finding sufficient
funds to address the funding of our transportation agencies," Peisch
said, adding she envisioned the proposal would be "in lieu of" a gas
tax. The governor's tax expenditure report estimates that removing the
exemption on fuels would bring in $509 million a year, a figure Peisch
said may be high.
Peisch said lawmakers may prefer a sales tax on gasoline instead of a
gas tax hike because "it just makes it all part of the sales tax instead
of having a separate type of tax for gasoline." Sales tax revenue from
gas sales would also rise and fall according to the gas prices of the
day.
"I'm less interested in how we raise it than that we raise it," she
said.
The proposals are likely to arise on Monday, when the House takes up 60
amendments that would collectively raise the state's revenue collection
by billions. In addition to Kocot's amendment, lawmakers have bandied
about proposals to hike the state sales tax by 2 percentage points to 7
percent, increase the gas tax as much as 29 cents (about $26 million is
generated with every penny increase), increase the income tax by a
percentage point, tax junk food and alcohol, and give cities and towns
the option to raise the sales tax on meals and hotels by up to 3
percentage points.
All told, the amendments would raise the state's bottom line by
billions. Economists estimate that adding a penny to the sales tax would
bring in $750 million a year - under current definitions of what is
taxable - and adding a tenth of one point to the income tax would boost
the state's revenue by $200 million.
When lawmakers passed, and Gov. Michael Dukakis signed, a bill
eliminating the sales tax on services in 1990, it was met with public
outcry. In particular, legal advocates at the Massachusetts Bar
Association and the Boston Bar Association fought to overturn it in
court.
When Gov. William Weld took office in 1991, he led a successful effort
to repeal the new tax, riding a wave of support and relying on a Senate
with 16 Republican members, enough to sustain his veto. The new tax
never took effect.
Stephen Kidder, who headed the Department of Revenue in the Dukakis
administration, said the effort to tax services was part of a
fundamental rethinking of the state's tax base.
"The logic to it, of course, was that our economy had shifted over time
from an economy based on manufacture of widgets to delivery of
services," he said. "When the department went through the process of
developing regulations, it became clear how complicated the process
would be. You look at technical questions like where are services
performed, who's performing them, what services are performed in
Massachusetts, what services are performed elsewhere. It became clear
the challenge of trying to identify, in an internet world, where
services are performed."
Kidder, a partner at the Boston firm Hemenway & Barnes, said that in
today's world, "things are certainly at least as complicated" as they
were back then. Because other states never embraced the sales tax on
services, implementing it would put Massachusetts businesses at a
disadvantage with out-of-state companies, he said.
The state's largest employer group has included Kocot's amendment on a
list of proposals, circulated in the capitol on Thursday, that they want
House members to reject.
"Our economy is one of services. We've definitely moved from a
manufacturing economy to a service one," said Eileen McAnneny,
Associated Industries of Massachusetts senior vice president. "If you're
taxing printing services or legal services, a lot of it is consumed by
businesses."
McAnneny said consumers would ultimately bear the cost of higher taxes
as companies paying more for outside services passed on the costs. After
recalling the Weld-era debate, McAnneny said the question today is,
"Does the governor want to go down that road?"
In a letter to lawmakers Thursday, Associated Industries of
Massachusetts executive vice president John Regan called on House
members to defeat 16 amendments that would raise the state sales tax as
high as 7 percent, bump up the corporate tax rate to 10.5 percent, add
29 cents to the gasoline tax and lift the state income tax by a full
point.
John Hurst, who heads the Retailers Association of Massachusetts,
charged that a sales tax hike would drive consumers to New Hampshire or
online to make purchases.
Although lawmakers are loath to raise taxes amid a deepening recession,
a groundswell of support for new revenue has arisen from groups who fear
deep service cuts for the mentally ill, transportation, the elderly and
others. Groups have been holding more frequent protests and filling the
inboxes of lawmakers with calls for higher taxes.
In a Thursday afternoon statement, Mass Home Care executive director Al
Norman issued a broad call to raise taxes to support elder services. He
pointed to an amendment filed by Rep. Alice Wolf (D-Cambridge) that
would restore $18 million in the budget for at-home services for the
elderly. Sixty-four members have signed on in support, he said.
"We have told lawmakers we will applaud their efforts to generate
revenues," Norman said. "The income tax cuts of the 1990s have left us
in this deplorable situation."
While House Speaker Robert DeLeo has said he is open-minded about a
sales tax hike, the governor has been reluctant to embrace such an
increase.
Budget issues and the raft of tax amendments are a likely topic Friday
morning, when DeLeo meets in his office with members of his leadership
team, followed by a meeting with committee chairmen.
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