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CLT UPDATE
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Still no budget, still no tax
hike
|
They say they want to help working families, but
will they?
I’m talking about the Big Three: Governor Charlie
Baker, House Speaker Bob DeLeo, and Senate President Stan Rosenberg.
All of them want to cut tax bills for low-income families, but as
the Legislature’s budget deadline looms, they can’t agree on how to
pay for it....
Baker wants to double the earned income tax
credit by phasing out the controversial state tax break to movie
studios. Rosenberg, who championed the legislation that created the
state’s tax break for the working poor in 1997, wants to pay for the
program’s expansion by freezing the income tax rate.
Baker doesn’t like the Senate plan because he
considers it a tax hike, something that would anger his Republican
base. Meanwhile, DeLeo is giving the thumbs down — and that’s
putting it politely — to both plans.
Not only is the House staunchly standing by tax
breaks to Hollywood, but it vigorously fought the Senate’s plan,
even asking the Supreme Judicial Court to weigh in. The high court
sided with the Senate last week, saying its plan did not violate the
House’s sole power to originate so-called money bills.
Don’t count on DeLeo being in a compromising
mood. He also doesn’t like the Senate plan because it mimics a tax
increase by preventing next year’s scheduled reduction in the state
income tax rate to 5.10 percent from 5.15 percent.
The Boston Globe
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Politics get in the way of aid to poor
By Shirley Leung
The new fiscal year dawned Wednesday morning
without a new state budget in place and it appears an accord won't
be ratified before the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
Asked about the outlook for a budget agreement
this week, Second Assistant Majority Leader Paul Donato of Medford
told the News Service, "Probably not. They're still working."
Donato said the six-member conference committee
"almost had some kind of agreement" and are "close" to finalizing
details of an annual spending bill that will likely total $38.1
billion.
"It won't be this week," Donato said. "But we're
anticipating that they're working and trying to get it done as
quickly as possible." ...
The House and Senate budgets both feature
investments in local aid, education aid and substance abuse
treatment, with major areas of disagreement including approaches to
fixing problems at the MBTA and tax policy. The House budget steered
mostly clear of tax law changes while the Senate passed an increase
in personal income tax exemptions and the earned income tax credit
while freezing the income tax at 5.15 percent and thus nullifying
the current schedule that could ratchet down that broad-based tax to
5 percent.
State House News Service
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
State budget deal "close," House Leader says no vote this week
The new fiscal year dawned Wednesday with the
Legislature failing to fulfill one of its most fundamental
responsibilities: enacting the yearly state budget.
The Senate and House each passed a spending
proposal months ago, but the chambers have yet to reconcile
their differences, which have included various tax measures and
how to fix the beleaguered MBTA.
And, based on its schedule, the Legislature
appears poised to go into the July 4 holiday weekend without
concluding its fiscal work.
The delay marks a departure from recent
years, when budgets were enacted and sent to the governor before
or at the beginning of July.
A month-long interim budget is in place —
it’s called a “one-twelfth” in the wonkish argot of Beacon Hill
— which means state government will continue to function....
“I am deeply disappointed that the [fiscal
year 2016] budget has not yet been agreed to by the conference
committee. This is the first time in my five years as chairman
of the House Committee on Ways and Means that the state budget
will not be delivered in a timely fashion,” said Haverhill
Democrat Brian S. Dempsey.
On Beacon Hill, nothing is ever set in stone,
so it’s possible a fiscal breakthrough could occur all of a
sudden. But it’s now widely expected that a compromise budget
won’t see the light of day and be voted on until, at the
earliest, late next week.
The Boston Globe
Thursday, July 2, 2015
New fiscal year begins with no state budget deal
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Chip Ford's CLT
Commentary
The budget conference committee of six still
hasn't agreed on a budget, so we still don't know if the tax hike
included in the Senate's version will be included. That's
apparently one of the sticking points holding it up this year.
It appears the earliest the committee will
release its verdict will be next week, though once it does votes in
the House and Senate could come very quickly. This will be an
up-or-down vote without further amendments. Generally both
chambers rubber stamp the committee's recommendations.
Then Gov. Baker will have ten days to decide
whether to sign, sign with amendments, veto some or all of it.
When the committee releases its agreement,
passage by both chambers will probably happen like a flash of
lightning. We'll need to act quickly if "freezing" the voters'
income tax rollback is included, but stopping the "freeze" at that
point is almost impossible. At that point, Gov. Baker is the
best hope of preventing the voters' income tax rollback from being
destroyed.
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Chip Ford |
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The Boston Globe
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Politics get in the way of aid to poor
By Shirley Leung
They say they want to help working families, but will they?
I’m talking about the Big Three: Governor Charlie Baker, House
Speaker Bob DeLeo, and Senate President Stan Rosenberg. All of them
want to cut tax bills for low-income families, but as the
Legislature’s budget deadline looms, they can’t agree on how to pay
for it.
People of Massachusetts, please don’t stand for this. There’s no
gold star for trying. If this is something the Big Three want, then
they should make it happen.
But a lot of politics is getting in the way of helping more than
400,000 Massachusetts households who struggle to make ends meet.
There’s no debate on the power of the earned income tax credit,
which is available to working families who make less than about
$50,000 a year. From liberal to conservative, from advocates of the
poor to Warren Buffett, this tax credit — both the federal and state
versions — has been hailed as one of the most effective antipoverty
policies out there.
How to foot the bill is where the Big Three stop being on the same
page.
Baker wants to double the earned income tax credit by phasing out
the controversial state tax break to movie studios. Rosenberg, who
championed the legislation that created the state’s tax break for
the working poor in 1997, wants to pay for the program’s expansion
by freezing the income tax rate.
Baker doesn’t like the Senate plan because he considers it a tax
hike, something that would anger his Republican base. Meanwhile,
DeLeo is giving the thumbs down — and that’s putting it politely —
to both plans.
Not only is the House staunchly standing by tax breaks to Hollywood,
but it vigorously fought the Senate’s plan, even asking the Supreme
Judicial Court to weigh in. The high court sided with the Senate
last week, saying its plan did not violate the House’s sole power to
originate so-called money bills.
Don’t count on DeLeo being in a compromising mood. He also doesn’t
like the Senate plan because it mimics a tax increase by preventing
next year’s scheduled reduction in the state income tax rate to 5.10
percent from 5.15 percent.
It wasn’t that long ago when the Big Three, smiles and all, were
singing kumbaya when Baker took office in January. Now look at them,
tussling over an MBTA overhaul plan and the earned income tax
credit.
But it’s not like they don’t talk to each other. In fact, the Big
Three meet every Monday for an hour or so at the State House to hash
out issues.
When I caught up with them after this week’s meeting, Baker
acknowledged that the earned income tax credit wasn’t on the agenda
this time, but he reiterated it’s still a priority for his
administration.
The governor gave props to the Senate for putting out a proposal to
increase the tax credit, though he still likes his funding model
better.
But Baker made clear he’s willing to strike a deal.
“I’ve said from the very beginning of this whole process that
budgets are a combo platter,” he said, flanked by DeLeo and
Rosenberg. “We’ll see what happens coming out at the other end.”
Rosenberg, who talked about increasing the earned income tax credit
in his inaugural address in January, also seemed eager for some give
and take.
“I’m glad that he put the subject on the table through the
campaign,” said the Senate president, “and I’m glad we’re continuing
the conversation through the budget process and beyond.”
Which leaves us with DeLeo.
There’s no proposal from the House, just pooh-poohing of other
people’s plans. In other words, doing nothing about giving more tax
breaks to the working poor. Is he with the program or not?
“I am in favor of the earned income tax credit,” insisted DeLeo.
Now, neither the governor’s nor the Senate’s plan is perfect.
Baker’s idea of phasing out the film tax break doesn’t fully pay for
doubling the earned income tax credit. The Senate plan calls for a
50 percent increase in the tax credit, and while it would be fully
funded by freezing the income tax rate, it represents a tax increase
for the wealthy.
Both Baker and DeLeo have a problem with raising taxes, and so the
Senate idea seems like a nonstarter.
As for the film tax credit — universally vilified for the costs
outweighing the benefits — the Senate is looking at reforming the
program rather than getting rid of it. Could the House get behind a
scaled-down film tax program?
Clearly, the Big Three have a lot to work through before they can
step up tax breaks for the working poor. Unlike fixing the T, they
won’t have powerful unions and business groups trying to get their
way.
Those at the bottom don’t have advocates like those at the top. Only
the Big Three can make working families a priority.
We’ll find out soon just how committed they are.
State House News Service
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
State budget deal "close," House Leader says no vote this week
By Michael P. Norton
The new fiscal year dawned Wednesday morning without a new state
budget in place and it appears an accord won't be ratified before
the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
Asked about the outlook for a budget agreement this week, Second
Assistant Majority Leader Paul Donato of Medford told the News
Service, "Probably not. They're still working."
Donato said the six-member conference committee "almost had some
kind of agreement" and are "close" to finalizing details of an
annual spending bill that will likely total $38.1 billion.
"It won't be this week," Donato said. "But we're anticipating that
they're working and trying to get it done as quickly as possible."
The House and Senate budgets both feature investments in local aid,
education aid and substance abuse treatment, with major areas of
disagreement including approaches to fixing problems at the MBTA and
tax policy. The House budget steered mostly clear of tax law changes
while the Senate passed an increase in personal income tax
exemptions and the earned income tax credit while freezing the
income tax at 5.15 percent and thus nullifying the current schedule
that could ratchet down that broad-based tax to 5 percent.
In a phone interview, Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Karen
Spilka (D-Ashland) agreed that negotiators are close to a deal.
"We're still working," said Spilka, who is leading Senate budget
talks opposite House Ways and Means Committee Chair Rep. Brian
Dempsey (D-Haverhill). "There are still some outstanding complex
issues for both the House and the Senate that we're still working
on. I know the Senate still hoped to do it this week but we're
working on it."
The House met for about 10 minutes Wednesday morning before
adjourning until Thursday, when they plan an informal session during
which controversial bills are usually not considered. Few House
members attend informal sessions. The Senate gaveled in its informal
session Wednesday morning and held it open for nearly an hour before
adjourning until Thursday when another informal session is planned.
Asked if conferees had meetings scheduled, Spilka said, "We're still
working. We're still talking."
Before fiscal 2015 ended, Gov. Charlie Baker and legislative leaders
began coming to grips with the possibility that budget deliberations
that started in early March might not lead to a timely conclusion.
Baker filed legislation to keep state government funded for two
weeks but legislative leaders gave their negotiators even more time
to work on what's now a late budget, passing a $5.5 billion
temporary budget to keep state government funded for about four
weeks.
Lawmakers are juggling the need to be on Beacon Hill to vote on a
budget bill when it's ready with their own plans for the Fourth of
July, which falls on Saturday. House Speaker Robert DeLeo notified
representatives last week that unless a budget were ready for a vote
on Friday, the House will close that day to observe Independence
Day.
Spilka held out hope for an agreement this week. "If not this week I
would certainly be working for it next week. We really want to wrap
this up as soon as possible," she told the News Service.
Donato said, "We were hoping that it would be done but there's still
a few issues that have to be resolved," adding that a deal is
possible next week "if they keep working the way they are."
The Boston Globe
Thursday, July 2, 2015
New fiscal year begins with no state budget deal
By Joshua Miller
The new fiscal year dawned Wednesday with the Legislature failing to
fulfill one of its most fundamental responsibilities: enacting the
yearly state budget.
The Senate and House each passed a spending proposal months ago, but
the chambers have yet to reconcile their differences, which have
included various tax measures and how to fix the beleaguered MBTA.
And, based on its schedule, the Legislature appears poised to go
into the July 4 holiday weekend without concluding its fiscal work.
The delay marks a departure from recent years, when budgets were
enacted and sent to the governor before or at the beginning of July.
A month-long interim budget is in place — it’s called a
“one-twelfth” in the wonkish argot of Beacon Hill — which means
state government will continue to function.
But one of the top legislative budget leaders expressed dismay that
the two-chamber negotiating group, known as a conference committee,
had blown past the normal deadline.
“I am deeply disappointed that the [fiscal year 2016] budget has not
yet been agreed to by the conference committee. This is the first
time in my five years as chairman of the House Committee on Ways and
Means that the state budget will not be delivered in a timely
fashion,” said Haverhill Democrat Brian S. Dempsey.
He continued, notably eschewing the use of “we” and favoring a
singular pronoun instead: “I have been working around the clock to
settle the differences and it will continue to be my only priority
to see this budget resolved for the people of the Commonwealth.”
Senate Ways and Means chairwoman Karen E. Spilka was a bit more
chipper in a statement of her own.
“Despite a staggering $1.8 billion budget deficit and other unique
circumstances, I remain hopeful we will reach a quick agreement on
outstanding issues,” she said. Spilka, an Ashland Democrat, also
referred to a sharp point of budget contention that took weeks to
resolve: the House’s request that the Supreme Judicial Court weigh
in on a Senate tax plan. (The SJC opined in the Senate’s favor.) “We
began this process with the uncertainty surrounding a request for an
advisory opinion from the Supreme Judicial Court, which has been
resolved,” she said.
Spilka said she will continue to work hard to deliver a budget to
Governor Charlie Baker.
An aide to Baker, a Republican, said the governor was not concerned
about the delay, but looked forward to seeing a budget as soon as
one is ready.
On Beacon Hill, nothing is ever set in stone, so it’s possible a
fiscal breakthrough could occur all of a sudden. But it’s now widely
expected that a compromise budget won’t see the light of day and be
voted on until, at the earliest, late next week.
In the early days of next week, many legislators are set to attend
the wake and funeral of state Senator Thomas P. Kennedy, a Brockton
Democrat who died Sunday.
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material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior
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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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