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CLT UPDATE
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Good, Great, and Bad News
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Massachusetts officials have confirmed that the
state is one step away from seeing the personal income tax rate drop
to 5.2 percent, a move that could cost the commonwealth up to $210
million in lost revenue over an 18-month span.
The Boston Business Journal reported earlier this
month that October’s income-tax collections had increased by 5.4
percent on a year-over-year basis and appeared to satisfy certain
growth thresholds needed to drop the income-tax rate from its
current 5.25 percent. On Friday, Department of Revenue Commissioner
Amy Pitter formally confirmed that October’s increase in collections
had in fact surpassed the state’s minimum growth threshold.
According to a state law passed in 2002, the
state’s income tax rate will automatically drop by 0.05 percentage
points in a given budget year if certain collections milestones are
met. Those triggers will remain in place until a minimum income-tax
rate of 5 percent is reached.
With Friday’s confirmation, four of the law’s
five revenue benchmarks have now been hit. To reach those four
milestones, the state was required to reach or exceed tax-growth
targets in fiscal 2013 as well as the three-month periods that ended
Aug. 31, Sept. 30 and Oct. 31. The state is scheduled to report on
the fifth and final revenue benchmark next month....
To hit the fifth and final threshold needed to
trigger the automatic decrease in the income tax rate, the state
must record inflation-adjusted baseline growth of greater than 0.0
percent for the three months ending Nov. 30, according to the
statute.
The DOR said the official collections tally for
the Sept. 1-through-Nov. 30 period will be issued Dec. 16.
Boston Business Journal
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
State one step closer to cutting the income-tax rate
Lawmakers and activists hoping to repeal a new
law indexing the gas tax to inflation claimed Thursday that they've
filed more than 100,000 signatures for certification by local
officials, more than enough at first blush to qualify for the 2014
ballot.
Organizers of the entirely volunteer effort stood
outside the State House on Thursday afternoon to trumpet what they
described as a swell of grassroots support for repealing the law
that was part of a larger effort to finance new investments in
transportation....
Steve Aylward, a Republican State Committee
member and chair of the committee behind the ballot petition, said
as of Wednesday over 60,000 signatures had been certified, putting
the group well on its way toward the required 68,911 certified
signatures to advance their proposal closer to the November 2014
ballot....
Aylward called the idea of linking future tax
increases to inflation a “hideous new method of taxation” that
exempts lawmakers from having to vote on new taxes if they feel the
revenue is necessary for investments....
The Senate this week passed another controversial
indexing measure as part of legislation raising the minimum wage
from $8 to $11 an hour and linking that wage to a cost of living
index. Indexing supporters have argued the changes will ensure that
the tax and the wage floor keep pace over time as prices and the
economy change.
Transportation for Massachusetts Advocacy
Director Lizzi Weyant and representatives from other advocacy groups
that supported this summer’s push to raise taxes for transportation
investments turned out for the press conference.
“If the initiative qualifies, I think people in
Massachusetts really need to weigh whether they want to lose
significant investment for transportation and for the Commonwealth.
Without this money we’re going to see more congestion, more delays,
a transportation system that’s been underfunded for years continue
to be unmaintained,” Weyant said.
Following the press conference, an argument
erupted between Weyant and the spokesman for Transportation for
Massachusetts Terence Burke, of Denterlein, and Republican political
strategist Holly Robichaud. “You are lying. It doesn’t cut
transportation one dime,” Robichaud shouted repeatedly at Burke.
Robichaud was arguing that gas tax revenues would
be deposited into the state’s General Fund, and had not been
earmarked specifically for transportation. The argument ended when
Burke walked away.
State House News Service
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Gas tax indexing opponents sense strong interest in repeal proposal
. . . About the same time, on the other side
of the world, another group that would see its share of action
over the years was born. It was 1974, and the Citizens for
Limited Taxation began its long fight with the tax-and-spend
politicians in Massachusetts. These soldiers led the fight at
the battle of Prop 2½. Fought and won the graduated income tax
battle. Reduced the excise-tax penalty on our vehicles, and many
more skirmishes on our behalf that I don’t have room to list.
Today, the CLT is just barely hanging on with
a small but indomitable cadre of warriors who keep fighting for
all of us against those who want us to turn our wallets over to
them so that they can “take care of us.” ...
They also deserve a medal, our support and
our gratitude since so few have stood against hordes of the
enemy on the other side of our wallets for so long. But like Jon
Caviani, they probably wouldn’t wear them either.
The Marblehead Reporter
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Long ago, far away
Letter to the Editor by Kris Kristiansen
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Chip Ford's CLT
Commentary
Good News:
Only one hurdle remains before the state has no further excuse to
not lower the income tax. Granted it's only
another
five one-hundredths
of one percent ― from 5.25% to 5.2%
― and thirteen years after the voters
resoundingly demanded it be rolled back to its historic 5% ― but
it's another step in the right direction. You'll recall the
income tax was hiked to 5.95% in 1989, "temporarily" we were
promised, and the increased revenue would be used "only to pay off
the debt" back then.
Great News:
The
"Tank the Automatic Gas Tax" group of activist volunteers turned the
signed petition sheets into city and town clerks around the state by
the deadline last Wednesday. They announce they'd collected more
than enough signatures to qualify, with a very comfortable margin to
avoid challenges by the tax-borrow-and-spend cabal of usual
suspects. If the Legislature doesn't adopt and pass repeal of the
automatic gas tax hike in the spring, then another 11,485 certified
signatures from additional voters will need to be collected. Accomplishing that will put
the repeal on the 2014 ballot for voters to decide.
Bad News:
Thanks to the generosity and commitment of many CLT members, we've
managed to almost reach the end of 2013 ―
but some 2,000 once-members still have not
renewed their membership
during this entire year. Maybe they just don't realize that
CLT is entirely member-funded? In the week ahead they will be receiving
a last chance to belatedly support CLT's activities this year.
As I said in my letter to them, "It would be
ironic and sad if CLT was finally defeated not by our tax-and-spend
adversaries ―
but by the
indifference of our allies and beneficiaries like you."
Have a happy Thanksgiving Day ― and thanks for the support and
confidence of so many contributing members over the decades and years,
especially during this past one.
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Chip Ford |
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Boston Business Journal
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
State one step closer to cutting the income-tax rate
By Craig Douglas
Massachusetts officials have confirmed that the state is one step
away from seeing the personal income tax rate drop to 5.2 percent, a
move that could cost the commonwealth up to $210 million in lost
revenue over an 18-month span.
The Boston Business Journal reported earlier this month that
October’s income-tax collections had increased by 5.4 percent on a
year-over-year basis and appeared to satisfy certain growth
thresholds needed to drop the income-tax rate from its current 5.25
percent. On Friday, Department of Revenue Commissioner Amy Pitter
formally confirmed that October’s increase in collections had in
fact surpassed the state’s minimum growth threshold.
According to a state law passed in 2002, the state’s income tax rate
will automatically drop by 0.05 percentage points in a given budget
year if certain collections milestones are met. Those triggers will
remain in place until a minimum income-tax rate of 5 percent is
reached.
With Friday’s confirmation, four of the law’s five revenue
benchmarks have now been hit. To reach those four milestones, the
state was required to reach or exceed tax-growth targets in fiscal
2013 as well as the three-month periods that ended Aug. 31, Sept. 30
and Oct. 31. The state is scheduled to report on the fifth and final
revenue benchmark next month.
In fiscal 2013, tax revenue growth was 3.99 percent, well above the
law’s threshold requirement of 2.5 percent. Likewise, in each of the
three-month periods that ended Aug. 31, Sept. 30 and Oct. 31,
income-tax collections outpaced the law’s required year-over-year
growth threshold of 0.0 percent, according to DOR.
In a Nov. 15 letter to Glen Shor, the state’s secretary of
administration and finance, Pitter said baseline income tax
collections for the three-month period that ended Oct. 31 totaled
$5.09 billion, a 9.14 percent increase over the corresponding period
in 2012. Adjusted for inflation, the increase in baseline
collections was 8.17 percent — well above the minimum threshold of
0.0 percent needed to trigger the automatic decrease in the
income-tax rate.
The state defines baseline income tax collections as total receipts,
net of any new revenue that results from changes in tax law or
administrative policies at the State House.
To hit the fifth and final threshold needed to trigger the automatic
decrease in the income tax rate, the state must record
inflation-adjusted baseline growth of greater than 0.0 percent for
the three months ending Nov. 30, according to the statute.
The DOR said the official collections tally for the Sept.
1-through-Nov. 30 period will be issued Dec. 16.
According to financial filings, a reduction in the income tax rate
would take effect Jan. 1, 2014, the midway point of the current
fiscal year. The DOR said the resulting revenue impact would likely
range between $60 million and $70 million in the current fiscal
year, and will cost the state another $125 million-to-$140 million
in lost revenue in fiscal 2015.
State House News Service
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Gas tax indexing opponents sense strong interest in repeal proposal
By Matt Murphy
Lawmakers and activists hoping to repeal a new law indexing the gas
tax to inflation claimed Thursday that they've filed more than
100,000 signatures for certification by local officials, more than
enough at first blush to qualify for the 2014 ballot.
Organizers of the entirely volunteer effort stood outside the State
House on Thursday afternoon to trumpet what they described as a
swell of grassroots support for repealing the law that was part of a
larger effort to finance new investments in transportation.
In addition to raising the gas tax by three cents, lawmakers voted
to tie future increases to inflation to generate a combined $110
million in new revenue in fiscal 2014.
Steve Aylward, a Republican State Committee member and chair of the
committee behind the ballot petition, said as of Wednesday over
60,000 signatures had been certified, putting the group well on its
way toward the required 68,911 certified signatures to advance their
proposal closer to the November 2014 ballot.
Backers, including Republican Reps. Geoff Diehl, Shaunna O’Connell
and Jim Lyons, joined organizers Thursday to criticize the indexing
provision.
“We tapped into the fact that this is taxation without
representation,” said Diehl, a Whitman Republican. Diehl said
organizers collected 25,000 signatures in the last weekend before
Wednesday’s deadline to turn in the papers.
Aylward called the idea of linking future tax increases to inflation
a “hideous new method of taxation” that exempts lawmakers from
having to vote on new taxes if they feel the revenue is necessary
for investments.
"If you want to raise our taxes, explain why and take a vote, but do
not under any circumstances put an automatic tax burden on us, our
children or our grandchildren. If legislators need more taxes, they
have an obligation to explain to the voters why they need to raise
more taxes,” Aylward said.
He continued, “They need to put on their big boy pants, and yes,
Katherine Clark, big girl pants, and take a vote.” Clark, a
Democratic state senator from Melrose who voted in favor of the
transportation financing plan, is running for Congress in the 5th
District special election to fill the seat formerly held by Sen.
Edward Markey.
Lyons said he found it “particularly interesting” that Democrats
would support indexing the gas tax to inflation, but often rebuff
Republican attempts to curtail state spending over time by arguing
that lawmakers should not tie the hands of future Legislatures.
The Senate this week passed another controversial indexing measure
as part of legislation raising the minimum wage from $8 to $11 an
hour and linking that wage to a cost of living index. Indexing
supporters have argued the changes will ensure that the tax and the
wage floor keep pace over time as prices and the economy change.
Transportation for Massachusetts Advocacy Director Lizzi Weyant and
representatives from other advocacy groups that supported this
summer’s push to raise taxes for transportation investments turned
out for the press conference.
“If the initiative qualifies, I think people in Massachusetts really
need to weigh whether they want to lose significant investment for
transportation and for the Commonwealth. Without this money we’re
going to see more congestion, more delays, a transportation system
that’s been underfunded for years continue to be unmaintained,”
Weyant said.
Following the press conference, an argument erupted between Weyant
and the spokesman for Transportation for Massachusetts Terence
Burke, of Denterlein, and Republican political strategist Holly
Robichaud. “You are lying. It doesn’t cut transportation one dime,”
Robichaud shouted repeatedly at Burke.
Robichaud was arguing that gas tax revenues would be deposited into
the state’s General Fund, and had not been earmarked specifically
for transportation. The argument ended when Burke walked away.
Supporters of indexing the gas tax say the value of the tax erodes
over time with inflation, and pointed to MassINC polling numbers
form earlier this year that showed more than 60 percent of voters
were willing to spend an additional $50 a year to fund roads and
public transit.
The Marblehead Reporter
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Letter to the Editor
Long ago, far away
By Kris Kristiansen
Once, while the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) was being
inspected at our headquarters at Camp Sansone, Okinawa, one of our
soldiers was berated by the command sergeant major for not wearing
any medals on his dress greens. He was ordered to get them
immediately from his locker.
When he came back, he was wearing only one medal since that was all
that was required in the regulations. It was the Medal of Honor. He
just didn’t like to brag.
About the same time, on the other side of the world, another group
that would see its share of action over the years was born. It was
1974, and the Citizens for Limited Taxation began its long fight
with the tax-and-spend politicians in Massachusetts. These soldiers
led the fight at the battle of Prop 2½. Fought and won the graduated
income tax battle. Reduced the excise-tax penalty on our vehicles,
and many more skirmishes on our behalf that I don’t have room to
list.
Today, the CLT is just barely hanging on with a small but
indomitable cadre of warriors who keep fighting for all of us
against those who want us to turn our wallets over to them so that
they can “take care of us.” (Right.) Three Spartans holding the pass
— Barbara Anderson, Chip Faulkner, and Chip Ford — in Marblehead, of
all places! Bet the politicians never saw that coming!
Their admirable code of conduct says this, “Citizens for Limited
Taxation strives to limit taxes, return to the taxpayers of
Massachusetts as much of their income as possible, and limit the
size, growth, power and reach of government at all levels.” Join
their ranks at cltg.org.
They also deserve a medal, our support and our gratitude since so
few have stood against hordes of the enemy on the other side of our
wallets for so long. But like Jon Caviani, they probably wouldn’t
wear them either.
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NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this
material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes
only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
Citizens for Limited Taxation ▪
PO Box 1147 ▪ Marblehead, MA 01945
▪ 508-915-3665
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