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Post Office Box 1147
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Marblehead, Massachusetts 01945
▪ (781) 639-9709
“Every Tax is a Pay Cut ... A Tax Cut is a Pay Raise”
46 years as “The Voice of Massachusetts Taxpayers”
— and
their Institutional Memory — |
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CLT UPDATE
Sunday, March 15, 2020
The spreading Beacon Hill Tax-and-Spend
epidemic
Jump directly
to CLT's Commentary on the News
|
Just last week, in addition
to the coronavirus, the State House was abuzz with talk
about gas tax hikes and sports betting. Now there are no
games to bet on, and debate over raising taxes to invest in
transportation seem like a distant memory....
The branches did team up with few lawmakers in attendance
(which isn't out of the ordinary for an informal session) to
pass a $15 million coronavirus aid package for the Baker
administration to support DPH and local boards of health as
they respond to the outbreak.
State House News Service
Friday, March 13, 2020
Weekly Roundup - Postponed Indefinitely
Legislative Direction: House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate
President Karen Spilka this week focused primarily on
trimming the number of staffers reporting to the State House
and studying novel ways to facilitate committee activity and
the work of the House and Senate. For now, it appears
legislative leaders are trying to advance bills during
lightly attended informal sessions, where bills are often
able to receive the unanimous consent of the few in
attendance.
What's less clear is how and when the Legislature will
address bills that stir up difference and require debate and
recorded votes, which may only happen during formal
sessions. Chief among those bills is the state budget, and
on that front, time is on the House's side, at least at this
point, as that bill usually surfaces in mid-April.
State House News Service
Friday, March 13, 2020
Advances - Week of March 15, 2020
The
Joint Ways and Means Committee has indefinitely postponed
the two remaining fiscal year 2021 budget hearings, which
had been scheduled for the next two weeks, in response to
the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.
A
note from top aides to House Chairman Rep. Aaron Michlewitz
and Senate Chairman Sen. Michael Rodrigues informed
committee members that the hearings scheduled for Monday,
March 16 in East Brookfield and Tuesday, March 24 at the
State House have been "postponed until further notice." ...
The
Joint Ways and Means Committee said it will keep members
"informed concerning future next steps."
The
committee has held six fiscal 2021 budget hearings, and its
tradition is to allow the general public to testify last....
Rodrigues said in a Wednesday interview that the joint
committee would ask anyone who planned to testify at the
postponed hearings to submit their materials in writing. He
also said the Senate Ways and Means Committee would conduct
its meetings by teleconference "for the time being."
The
Senate is still aiming to produce its budget for debate in
May he said. Asked if lawmakers could wind up using only
written testimony and never reschedule the delayed hearings
before they reach that point, Rodrigues replied, "Anything
is possible."
State House News Service
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Hearing for Public to Testify on State Budget Postponed
Indefinitely
Most Democrats in the Massachusetts House of Representatives
want to increase fuel taxes in Massachusetts, but they will
be met with opposition.
The
House voted 113-40 last week for a measure that would raise
the state’s gas tax from 24 to 29 cents per gallon and its
diesel tax from 24 to 33 cents per gallon. That’s a 21
percent increase in the gas tax and a 37.5 percent increase
in the diesel tax.
No
Republicans voted in favor of the proposal....
Opponents say it would [affect] everyone who drives and
increase prices – which would particularly hurt poor people.
Whitman Republican Geoff Diehl, a former state
representative and U.S. Senate candidate who was elected to
the State Republican Committee last week for the Second
Plymouth & Bristol District, ripped the proposal.
When he was in the state Legislature, Diehl teamed with
fellow GOP state representatives Shaunna O’Connell (now the
mayor of Taunton) and Jim Lyons (now the chairman of the
Massachusetts Republican Party) to lead a successful
statewide referendum repealing a law passed by the state
Legislature that sought to index the gas tax to inflation,
thus leading to automatic increases that state legislators
wouldn’t need to approve with a roll call vote.
“Now that we’re all out of the legislature, it seems like
now the legislators on Beacon Hill are looking at it as an
opportunity to raise the tax with token opposition to run
with it again,” Diehl told New Boston Post at an event in
East Bridgewater last week.
“The good news is it’s unlikely that the governor will
support it and the people out there who fought this when it
was a ballot question are willing to go to bat again and
repeal it if we have to,” he added. “I think they’re making
a mistake in thinking that there’s no opposition to their
attempt to go back to take the money we said they’re not
accountable for.” ...
The
proposal would raise taxes somewhere between $522 million
and $612 million annually in the Bay State, according to the
bill.
The
Massachusetts Senate has not yet taken action on the bill.
The Senate tends to be more left-leaning than the House.
Baker told reporters last week that he would veto the
legislation if it reaches his desk.
While the margin in the House, if it stands, is veto-proof,
Democratic legislative leaders usually try to avoid
overriding the governor and often prefer instead to work out
a deal with him in advance.
The New Boston Post
Monday, March 9, 2020
Proposed Fuel Tax Increases for Massachusetts
Not in Working Class’s Best Interests, Critics Say
A
new study conducted by opponents of a regional cap-and-trade
program for vehicle emissions found that assumptions made by
Transportation and Climate Initiative states about the
impact on the price of gas were greatly underestimated, and
the program could increase the price of a gallon of gas by
26 cents.
The
Beacon Hill Institute and the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance
Foundation released the study Tuesday.
The
groups said that if TCI comes to fruition the cost of a
gallon of gas in participating states could increase between
18 cents and 26 cents. That exceeds the 5-to-17-cent
estimate made by the coalition late last year.
The
study, done by the Beacon Hill Institute, also concluded
that if TCI states pursue a 25 percent reduction in
emissions - the most aggressive path under consideration -
Massachusetts would lose 9,600 private sector jobs in the
first year, and households will face an added annual expense
of $738, taking roughly $932 million out of the economy.
State House News Service
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
Study: Gas Price Impacts from TCI Underestimated
Gas
prices could surge even higher under the Transportation
Climate Initiative than originally estimated, a new study
shows, costing families an average of at least $738 more a
year.
“The people who are really going to be hit hard as a result
of this are people who are driving into Boston every day,
day-to-day workers, people driving for Uber, Lyft for work.
They’re going to see dramatic increases,” study author
William Burke said. “I think our estimates are even
optimistic compared to what could actually happen.”
Gov. Charlie Baker has been pushing the multi-state compact
despite balking by neighboring states like New Hampshire,
Rhode Island and Vermont. His administration insists the
fees are not a tax, though critics say the jacked up fees
have the same effect....
Prices could rise by up to 26 cents per gallon, according to
the study conducted by the Beacon Hill Institute and
commissioned by the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. The new
numbers contradict an estimated 17 cent-per-gallon boost
from officials back in December to reach a 25 percent
reduction in greenhouse gas emissions....
MassFiscal Alliance spokesman Paul Craney argued that under
TCI’s most aggressive plan, the global greenhouse gas
reductions would account for 0.00090 percent by 2022 and
0.00083 percent by 2026.
“The cost associated with TCI is magnitudes larger than
previously reported,” Craney said. “This would have a
significant impact for consumers with virtually no
environmental benefit.”
The Boston Herald
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
TCI gas price increase is higher than reported, new study
shows
The
cost of the Transportation and Climate Initiative fuel fee
may be 50 percent higher than initial estimates, a new study
this week reports.
The
initiative is a 12-state pact of New England and
Mid-Atlantic states that have expressed openness to charging
fees to fuel providers based on their carbon emissions. The
funding is supposed to be targeted for public
transportation, with the idea of decreasing the number of
cars on the road and therefore decreasing emissions.
The
new study, commissioned by the Fiscal Alliance Foundation
and conducted by William Burke and David G. Tuerck of The
Beacon Hill Institute, concluded it would take a fuel tax
much higher than 17 cents per gallon to reduce carbon
dioxide emissions by 25 percent – which is the number
announced by supporters in December 2019.
Instead, the newly released study found that the gasoline
tax would have to increase by 26 cents per gallon and the
diesel tax by 52 cents per gallon. That would impose an
average increased burden on Massachusetts families of $738 a
year and eliminate 9,667 private sector jobs in the Bay
State, according to the study.
Overall, the study found the fuel increases would reduce
global greenhouse gas emissions by 0.0009 percent in 2022
and 0.00083 percent in 2026....
Typical projections for the Transportation and Climate
Initiative take into account measures already taken by
states to reduce their emissions by 19 percent. Therefore,
cost projections in the past showed what it would cost to
reduce emissions by six percentage points to get to 25
percent reductions — not a 25 percent emission decrease from
the Transportation and Climate Initiative itself, which is
what the initiative aims to deliver.
“What the study found here is truly astounding,” Fiscal
Alliance Foundation spokesman Paul Craney said in a
statement. “The cost associated with TCI is magnitudes
larger than previously reported. For the first time, we now
know how many private sector jobs would be lost, and the
increase in taxes it would cost every Massachusetts family.”
“The most appalling fact that’s been missing by TCI is the
price on diesel costs,” Craney added. “Now we know a price
and it will come with a high cost, which will negatively
impact commerce and the transportation of almost all goods
in Massachusetts. This would have a significant impact for
consumers with virtually no environmental benefit.” ...
William Burke, the director of research at The Beacon Hill
Institute, said poor people would be hit especially hard.
“TCI is a hidden gasoline tax that is going to directly
impact the average Massachusetts household disposable
income,” Burke told New Boston Post in an email message.
“Gasoline taxes are regressive and lower income households
especially will be the ones who are most adversely affected
under TCI. When the prices of gasoline and diesel are
increased by this magnitude, there will be a considerable
shrinkage in economic activity across the state.”
Christopher Carlozzi, the state director for the National
Federation of Independent Business-Massachusetts, said the
projections show how bad the Transportation and Climate
Initiative would be for small business owners.
“The new report shows it would cost an additional 26 cents a
gallon, meaning a small business owner filling-up their
pickup truck would pay an additional $5.20 to $10.40,
depending on the size of the fuel tank — not to mention
fueling mowers or heavy equipment,” he told New Boston Post
in an email message. “That’s a big hit to a small business
owner’s bottom line and every driver’s wallet.
“Many small businesses depend on fuel to conduct business,
and they will have to raise the price of the goods and
services they provide,” he added. “That will increase
consumer costs and make Massachusetts much less competitive
with neighboring states and likely damage the state’s
economy.”
The New Boston Post
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Gas Price Up 26 Cents A Gallon in Massachusetts?
Carbon-Emissions Fuel Fee A Lot More Expensive
Than Originally Thought, New Study Finds
With a cap on emissions from the final consumption of
finished gasoline and on-road diesel, the price of both
products will increase. Essentially, TCI imposes a hidden
tax on both fuels.
Motor fuels such as gasoline and diesel are vital components
of economic activity. Everything from the price of groceries
to local tourism is impacted by the price of motor fuels.
Gasoline taxes are regressive in nature insofar as lower
income households spend larger portions of their income on
gasoline....
Motor fuels such as gasoline and diesel are vital components
of economic activity. Everything from the price of groceries
to local tourism is impacted by the price of motor fuels.
Gasoline taxes are regressive in nature insofar as lower
income households spend larger portions of their income on
gasoline.
The
Fiscal Alliance Foundation commissioned the Beacon Hill
Institute to study the economic impact that TCI would
actually have on our state economy, including the upfront
costs average residents will see. The study found that
emission caps as stringent as those proposed under TCI could
increase the price of finished gasoline by as much as 26
cents per gallon and increase the price of on-road diesel by
as much as 52 cents per gallon....
While being a climate leader is considered important, the
massive costs incurred by taxpayers under the Initiative
will do little to reverse or slow anthropogenic climate
change caused by greenhouse gas emissions.
CommonWealth Magazine
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
TCI: Meager benefits, high costs
Beacon Hill Institute study flags concerns
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Chip Ford's CLT
Commentary
The week ahead will bring
more of the unknown and continuing updates on
the virus fight. Here's some themes to watch:
. . . House Speaker Robert
DeLeo and Senate President Karen Spilka this
week focused primarily on trimming the number of
staffers reporting to the State House and
studying novel ways to facilitate committee
activity and the work of the House and Senate.
For now, it appears legislative leaders are
trying to advance bills during lightly attended
informal sessions, where bills are often able to
receive the unanimous consent of the few in
attendance.
What's less clear is how
and when the Legislature will address bills that
stir up difference and require debate and
recorded votes, which may only happen during
formal sessions. Chief among those bills is the
state budget, and on that front, time is on the
House's side, at least at this point, as that
bill usually surfaces in mid-April.
State House News Service
Friday, March 13, 2020
Advances - Week of March 15, 2020
The Joint Ways and Means
Committee has indefinitely postponed the two
remaining fiscal year 2021 budget hearings,
which had been scheduled for the next two weeks,
in response to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.
A note from top aides to
House Chairman Rep. Aaron Michlewitz and Senate
Chairman Sen. Michael Rodrigues informed
committee members that the hearings scheduled
for Monday, March 16 in East Brookfield and
Tuesday, March 24 at the State House have been
"postponed until further notice." ...
Rodrigues said in a
Wednesday interview that the joint committee
would ask anyone who planned to testify at the
postponed hearings to submit their materials in
writing. He also said the Senate Ways and Means
Committee would conduct its meetings by
teleconference "for the time being."
The Senate is still aiming
to produce its budget for debate in May he said.
Asked if lawmakers could wind up using only
written testimony and never reschedule the
delayed hearings before they reach that point,
Rodrigues replied, "Anything is possible."
State House News Service
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Hearing for Public to Testify on State Budget
Postponed Indefinitely
There was very
little state political news this week that wasn't
related to the mounting health crisis; the
Wuhan/China/Covid-19/Coronovirus pandemic that's
sweeping the state, the nation, and the world. I
couldn't help but recall that old supposed Chinese curse,
"May you live in interesting times." One way or
another, China certainly has delivered on that
worldwide.
One nugget of
taxpayer-related news this week concerned "Baker's
Boondoggle," his Transportation Climate Initiative (TCI).
A new report was released by Beacon Hill Institute and Mass.
Fiscal Foundation that dramatically undercut its alleged
costs and benefits. The Boston Herald reported on
release of "The
Transportation Climate Initiative: Its Economic Impacts on
Massachusetts":
Gas
prices could surge even higher under the
Transportation Climate Initiative than originally
estimated, a new study shows, costing families an
average of at least $738 more a year. . . . Prices
could rise by up to 26 cents per gallon, according
to the study conducted by the Beacon Hill Institute
and commissioned by the Massachusetts Fiscal
Alliance. The new numbers contradict an
estimated 17 cent-per-gallon boost from officials
back in December to reach a 25 percent reduction in
greenhouse gas emissions.
The Boston Post added:
The cost of the
Transportation and Climate Initiative fuel fee
may be 50 percent higher than initial estimates,
a new study this week reports.
Instead, the newly released
study found that the gasoline tax would have to
increase by 26 cents per gallon and the diesel
tax by 52 cents per gallon. That would
impose an average increased burden on
Massachusetts families of $738 a year and
eliminate 9,667 private sector jobs in the Bay
State, according to the study.
Overall, the study found
the fuel increases would reduce global
greenhouse gas emissions by 0.0009 percent in
2022 and 0.00083 percent in 2026.
Not to be outdone,
proponents quickly countered with issuing a letter, "100
US Companies, Investors Throw Weight Behind Transportation
and Climate Initiative." This is part of an
umbrella group
network called Ceres. According to
its
website, "Ceres is a sustainability nonprofit
organization working with the most influential investors and
companies to build leadership and drive solutions throughout
the economy," with headquarters in Boston and San Francisco.
(My goodness, where else would it be based?)
The "100 US
Companies, Investors" letter opens with:
"A
diverse group of investors, companies and
organizations across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
US are urging the region’s governors to adopt the
TCI — what they’re calling a ‘once-in-a-generation
opportunity.’"
● On Beacon Hill the
House of Representatives on March 4 passed its 5 cents per
gallon gas tax hike (9 cents per gallon on diesel fuel).
Its transportation revenue bill now sits in the state Senate
awaiting its action.
●
TCI would add an additional 26 cents per
gallon to that, bringing the total gas tax hikes to 31 cents
a gallon.
●
The current state gas tax of 24 cents per gallon
would leap to — a total gas tax
of 55 cents per gallon. That's more than a doubling of
the gas tax motorists now pay!
But what do
legislators care how much they over-burden their
constituents? They don't pay the gas tax.
They don't pay for their gas at all
—
taxpayers pay for it for them! As Boston
Herald writer Hillary Chabot noted in her March 8 column ("Gas
tax for thee, per diem for me"):
If [the
gas tax hike is] approved, the new charges will push
the commonwealth’s hand deeper into the pockets of
Massachusetts motorists who have to pay for their
own ride to and from work. State legislators,
however, are able to tap into a taxpayer-funded
annual stipend of $16,248 to pay for their commute
if they live within 50 miles of the State House and
$21,664 if they live farther away.
I expect that
after some chaos and certainly much inconvenience we will
survive the Wuhan/Coronovirus pandemic; a vaccine against it
will soon be developed and become available.
But can taxpayers
survive the spreading Beacon Hill Tax-and-Spend epidemic?
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Chip Ford
Executive Director |
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State House
News Service
Friday, March 13, 2020
Weekly Roundup - Postponed Indefinitely
By Matt Murphy
[Excerpts]
Not only is the administration
attempting to stay ahead of the coronavirus spread and give guidance to
government and private employers on how to proceed, Baker is also
grappling with a national failing of adequate COVID-19 testing capacity
and the long-term reality that the Department of Public Health's State
Laboratory will not be able to keep up with the demand for much longer,
if they even are now....
Just last week, in addition to the coronavirus, the State House was
abuzz with talk about gas tax hikes and sports betting. Now there are no
games to bet on, and debate over raising taxes to invest in
transportation seem like a distant memory.
With all of this going on, Secretary of State William Galvin tried to
launch the state's 2020 Census efforts on Thursday as residents began to
hear from the U.S. Census Bureau about making sure they get counted.
Galvin described himself as a convert to the idea that the online Census
option for residents will become invaluable, particularly as people
start working from home, if they can. The Brighton Democrat estimated
that 6.9 million people now live in Massachusetts, which would be a 6
percent uptick from 2010 and enough to stave off the loss of another
Congressional seat....
While Census takers will have to adapt to counting people in the midst
of a viral pandemic, Galvin also wants some flexibility to adapt to
situations on the ground, seeking to refile legislation that would allow
him to move polling locations, alter deadlines and outright postpone
elections if an emergency warranted such a step....
It's difficult to predict where that legislative effort will go with
House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Karen Spilka urging
committees to reschedule public hearings, and still contemplating how to
even legislate remotely.
The branches did team up with few lawmakers in attendance (which isn't
out of the ordinary for an informal session) to pass a $15 million
coronavirus aid package for the Baker administration to support DPH and
local boards of health as they respond to the outbreak.
The White House and the state's Congressional delegation also said
Massachusetts would be receiving $11.65 million from the $8.3 billion
aid package signed by President Trump last week. Another major federal
bill to respond to the pandemic is in the works.
State House
News Service
Friday, March 13, 2020
Advances - Week of March 15, 2020
[Excerpts]
The quiet halls of government
buildings and offices, empty campuses and the
quiet skies and open roads belie the tumult the
virus is actually causing. Impacts on the jobs,
state revenues and family budgets, the tourism
and higher education sectors, and high-stakes
campaigns like the presidential race and the Joe
Kennedy-Ed Markey U.S. Senate primary are only
just beginning to come into focus. The virus
causes mild flu symptoms in most people, and
data shows most of those who are infected are
recovering, but the death toll globally has
surpassed 4,600 and the highly contagious
disease is proving lethal to some older people
and those with underlying medical conditions.
Baker on Thursday night unilaterally modified
the open meeting law to facilitate remote
participation as long as government boards use
technology to make those meetings accessible.
Public agencies are investing in technologies
that facilitate virtual meetings, which is
what's required at the moment just to get by in
state government. The week ahead will bring more
of the unknown and continuing updates on the
virus fight. Here's some themes to watch: ...
-- Legislative Direction: House Speaker Robert
DeLeo and Senate President Karen Spilka this
week focused primarily on trimming the number of
staffers reporting to the State House and
studying novel ways to facilitate committee
activity and the work of the House and Senate.
For now, it appears legislative leaders are
trying to advance bills during lightly attended
informal sessions, where bills are often able to
receive the unanimous consent of the few in
attendance.
What's less clear is how and when the
Legislature will address bills that stir up
difference and require debate and recorded
votes, which may only happen during formal
sessions. Chief among those bills is the state
budget, and on that front, time is on the
House's side, at least at this point, as that
bill usually surfaces in mid-April.
State House
News Service
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Hearing for Public to Testify on State Budget
Postponed Indefinitely
By Colin A. Young and Chris Lisinski
The Joint Ways and Means
Committee has indefinitely postponed the two
remaining fiscal year 2021 budget hearings,
which had been scheduled for the next two weeks,
in response to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.
A note from top aides to House Chairman Rep.
Aaron Michlewitz and Senate Chairman Sen.
Michael Rodrigues informed committee members
that the hearings scheduled for Monday, March 16
in East Brookfield and Tuesday, March 24 at the
State House have been "postponed until further
notice."
The East Brookfield hearing would have given
lawmakers who write the annual state budget the
chance to hear from public safety agency and
department heads, and the hearing at the State
House was the only opportunity for the general
public to weigh in before the House and Senate
each roll out their own budget plans.
The Joint Ways and Means Committee said it will
keep members "informed concerning future next
steps."
The committee has held six fiscal 2021 budget
hearings, and its tradition is to allow the
general public to testify last.
On Tuesday, Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state
of emergency and imposed broad restrictions on
executive branch employees. He also suggested
that "large gatherings are probably not a great
idea" and urged people to work remotely, if
possible.
Rodrigues said in a Wednesday interview that the
joint committee would ask anyone who planned to
testify at the postponed hearings to submit
their materials in writing. He also said the
Senate Ways and Means Committee would conduct
its meetings by teleconference "for the time
being."
The Senate is still aiming to produce its budget
for debate in May he said. Asked if lawmakers
could wind up using only written testimony and
never reschedule the delayed hearings before
they reach that point, Rodrigues replied,
"Anything is possible."
"This is new and unique, the first time we've
experienced this type of public health
emergency," Rodrigues told the News Service
after a Wednesday caucus. "It is important that
we fulfill our constitutional requirement and do
the people's business but do so in a responsible
manner."
Also Wednesday, the Mass. Gaming Commission
announced that its Thursday meeting will take
place as scheduled, but that external
participants -- like representatives of the
state's casinos -- will take part in the meeting
via conference call. The commission said those
interested in attending the meeting "are
strongly encouraged to take advantage of remote
access" like the commission's livestream.
The Boston Herald
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
TCI gas price increase is higher than reported,
new study shows
By Mary Markos
Gas prices could surge even
higher under the Transportation Climate
Initiative than originally estimated, a new
study shows, costing families an average of at
least $738 more a year.
“The people who are really going to be hit hard
as a result of this are people who are driving
into Boston every day, day-to-day workers,
people driving for Uber, Lyft for work. They’re
going to see dramatic increases,” study author
William Burke said. “I think our estimates are
even optimistic compared to what could actually
happen.”
Gov. Charlie Baker has been pushing the
multi-state compact despite balking by
neighboring states like New Hampshire, Rhode
Island and Vermont. His administration insists
the fees are not a tax, though critics say the
jacked up fees have the same effect.
“Governor Baker opposes raising the gas tax and
is pursuing a regional transportation and
climate initiative to invest in public
transportation, reduce emissions and cut
congestion,” a Baker administration statement
said.
Prices could rise by up to 26 cents per gallon,
according to the study conducted by the Beacon
Hill Institute and commissioned by the
Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. The new numbers
contradict an estimated 17 cent-per-gallon boost
from officials back in December to reach a 25
percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
The cost of diesel fuel could also increase by
52 cents per gallon, according to Burke, the
director of research at BHI, which estimates
9,667 private sector jobs could be lost in
Massachusetts.
“Businesses are definitely going to see a sharp
increase in price,” Burke said.
State Rep. Alyson Sullivan, R-Abington, said,
“I’ve spoken to many constituents in my district
who own small businesses, who go to small
businesses and contribute to the local
community.
“They are very concerned about this TCI gas tax
because it’s not only going to affect the
businesses, but the consumers as well,” Sullivan
said. “There’s just going to be a ripple affect
that we’re very much concerned about.”
“This is going to once again establish
Massachusetts as Taxachusetts,” said state Rep.
David DeCoste, R-Norwell. “I think it’s bad
policy.”
MassFiscal Alliance spokesman Paul Craney argued
that under TCI’s most aggressive plan, the
global greenhouse gas reductions would account
for 0.00090 percent by 2022 and 0.00083 percent
by 2026.
“The cost associated with TCI is magnitudes
larger than previously reported,” Craney said.
“This would have a significant impact for
consumers with virtually no environmental
benefit.”
The New Boston
Post
Monday, March 9, 2020
Proposed Fuel Tax Increases for Massachusetts
Not in Working Class’s Best Interests, Critics
Say
By Tom Joyce
Most
Democrats in the Massachusetts House of
Representatives want to increase fuel taxes in
Massachusetts, but they will be met with
opposition.
The House voted 113-40 last week for a measure
that would raise the state’s gas tax from 24 to
29 cents per gallon and its diesel tax from 24
to 33 cents per gallon. That’s a 21 percent
increase in the gas tax and a 37.5 percent
increase in the diesel tax. (It’s Massachusetts
House Bill 4058, An Act Relative To
Transportation Finance.)
No Republicans voted in favor of the proposal.
Supporters say a gas tax increase is needed to
improve roads and bridges – as well as mass
transit, which they say would reduce carbon
emissions.
“We know there is a significant need for
transportation revenue, and this package
delivers it,” Massachusetts House Speaker Robert
DeLeo (D-Winthrop) said in a written statement
last week.
Opponents say it would [affect] everyone who
drives and increase prices – which would
particularly hurt poor people.
Whitman Republican Geoff Diehl, a former state
representative and U.S. Senate candidate who was
elected to the State Republican Committee last
week for the Second Plymouth & Bristol District,
ripped the proposal.
When he was in the state Legislature, Diehl
teamed with fellow GOP state representatives
Shaunna O’Connell (now the mayor of Taunton) and
Jim Lyons (now the chairman of the Massachusetts
Republican Party) to lead a successful statewide
referendum repealing a law passed by the state
Legislature that sought to index the gas tax to
inflation, thus leading to automatic increases
that state legislators wouldn’t need to approve
with a roll call vote.
“Now that we’re all out of the legislature, it
seems like now the legislators on Beacon Hill
are looking at it as an opportunity to raise the
tax with token opposition to run with it again,”
Diehl told New Boston Post at an event in East
Bridgewater last week.
“The good news is it’s unlikely that the
governor will support it and the people out
there who fought this when it was a ballot
question are willing to go to bat again and
repeal it if we have to,” he added. “I think
they’re making a mistake in thinking that
there’s no opposition to their attempt to go
back to take the money we said they’re not
accountable for.”
Paul Craney, executive director of the
Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, called the
proposed fuel tax increases “regressive tax
schemes” and argued they have the most impact on
the poor.
“Speaker DeLeo’s gas tax hike will come out of
the earnings of the hard-working taxpayers who
rely on their vehicle to get to work, run
errands, and operate a business,” Craney said in
a written statement. “Instead of looking at how
to spend taxpayer’s money more wisely, Speaker
DeLeo added an additional cost onto the backs of
the state’s already very generous taxpayers.”
Christopher Carlozzi, the state director for the
National Federation of Independent
Business-Massachusetts, also opposes the
proposed fuel tax increases.
He told New Boston Post that if combined with
the proposed Transportation and Climate
Initiative (supported by Governor Charlie Baker,
a Republican) that could raise gas and diesel
taxes by 17 cents per gallon, the impact would
be especially negative.
“When fuel costs increase for small businesses,
it means the price tag of goods and services
will rise too,” Carlozzi said in an email
message. “Fuel tax hikes result in less money
for small businesses to create jobs and less
money in consumers’ wallets.”
The bill would also increase the fees on
ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft. The
proposal would increase the fee by 20 cents, to
$1.20 per ride on standard non-shared rides – a
20 percent increase over the current $1 fee.
On luxury rides, the fee would increase by $1.20
to $2.20 – an 83 percent increase.
In addition, the bill would end the sales tax
exemption that rental car companies currently
have when purchasing vehicles.
The proposal would raise taxes somewhere between
$522 million and $612 million annually in the
Bay State, according to the bill.
The Massachusetts Senate has not yet taken
action on the bill. The Senate tends to be more
left-leaning than the House.
Baker told reporters last week that he would
veto the legislation if it reaches his desk.
While the margin in the House, if it stands, is
veto-proof, Democratic legislative leaders
usually try to avoid overriding the governor and
often prefer instead to work out a deal with him
in advance.
State House
News Service
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
Study: Gas Price Impacts from TCI Underestimated
By Matt Murphy
A new study conducted by
opponents of a regional cap-and-trade program
for vehicle emissions found that assumptions
made by Transportation and Climate Initiative
states about the impact on the price of gas were
greatly underestimated, and the program could
increase the price of a gallon of gas by 26
cents.
The Beacon Hill Institute and the Massachusetts
Fiscal Alliance Foundation released the study
Tuesday.
The groups said that if TCI comes to fruition
the cost of a gallon of gas in participating
states could increase between 18 cents and 26
cents. That exceeds the 5-to-17-cent estimate
made by the coalition late last year.
The study, done by the Beacon Hill Institute,
also concluded that if TCI states pursue a 25
percent reduction in emissions - the most
aggressive path under consideration -
Massachusetts would lose 9,600 private sector
jobs in the first year, and households will face
an added annual expense of $738, taking roughly
$932 million out of the economy.
Reps. David DeCoste of Norwell and Alyson
Sullivan of Abington, both Republicans, and
Christopher Carlozzi of the National Federation
of Independent Business joined with BHI and
MassFiscal officials to release the report.
DeCoste said the state should be looking at
strategies like increasing parking at MBTA
stations to reduce carbon emissions. He also
said he had a personal interest in how countries
like Sweden and Japan were burning their trash
for fuel.
Sullivan said she also supported Gov. Charlie
Baker's proposal to give companies tax credits
to encourage employees to work remotely.
The New Boston
Post
Thursday, March 12, 2020
Gas Price Up 26 Cents A Gallon in Massachusetts?
Carbon-Emissions Fuel Fee A Lot More Expensive
Than Originally Thought, New Study Finds
By Tom Joyce
The cost of the Transportation
and Climate Initiative fuel fee may be 50
percent higher than initial estimates, a new
study this week reports.
The initiative is a 12-state pact of New England
and Mid-Atlantic states that have expressed
openness to charging fees to fuel providers
based on their carbon emissions. The funding is
supposed to be targeted for public
transportation, with the idea of decreasing the
number of cars on the road and therefore
decreasing emissions.
The new study, commissioned by the Fiscal
Alliance Foundation and conducted by William
Burke and David G. Tuerck of The Beacon Hill
Institute, concluded it would take a fuel tax
much higher than 17 cents per gallon to reduce
carbon dioxide emissions by 25 percent – which
is the number announced by supporters in
December 2019.
Instead, the newly released study found that the
gasoline tax would have to increase by 26 cents
per gallon and the diesel tax by 52 cents per
gallon. That would impose an average increased
burden on Massachusetts families of $738 a year
and eliminate 9,667 private sector jobs in the
Bay State, according to the study.
Overall, the study found the fuel increases
would reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by
0.0009 percent in 2022 and 0.00083 percent in
2026.
Why the disparity?
According to the Fiscal Alliance Foundation,
previous cost estimates have been based on a
flawed assumption.
Typical projections for the Transportation and
Climate Initiative take into account measures
already taken by states to reduce their
emissions by 19 percent. Therefore, cost
projections in the past showed what it would
cost to reduce emissions by six percentage
points to get to 25 percent reductions — not a
25 percent emission decrease from the
Transportation and Climate Initiative itself,
which is what the initiative aims to deliver.
“What the study found here is truly astounding,”
Fiscal Alliance Foundation spokesman Paul Craney
said in a statement. “The cost associated with
TCI is magnitudes larger than previously
reported. For the first time, we now know how
many private sector jobs would be lost, and the
increase in taxes it would cost every
Massachusetts family.”
“The most appalling fact that’s been missing by
TCI is the price on diesel costs,” Craney added.
“Now we know a price and it will come with a
high cost, which will negatively impact commerce
and the transportation of almost all goods in
Massachusetts. This would have a significant
impact for consumers with virtually no
environmental benefit.”
The Transportation and Climate Initiative fuel
fee has the support of Massachusetts Governor
Charlie Baker, a Republican, who has stuck by it
even as the Republican governors of New
Hampshire and Vermont and the Democratic
governor of Connecticut have bailed on it
because of the initial cost projection in
December 2019.
New Boston Post contacted the Massachusetts
Department of Transportation, a state agency,
seeking comment about the higher cost estimates
predicted by the Beacon Hill Institute study.
Jaquelyn Goddard, a spokesman for the state
Department of Transportation, provided a written
statement expressing support for the
Transportation and Climate Initiative but not
addressing the new study’s projection of
higher-than-initially-reported fuel costs.
“Governor Baker is pursuing the Transportation
and Climate Initiative as data shows it would be
an effective tool to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions from the transportation sector and
because it has been met with a broad coalition
of support from members of both the business and
environmental communities who believe this
initiative will further mitigate the impacts of
climate change, protect the health of our
residents, and build a more resilient,
sustainable and equitable transportation system
for the next generation,” Goddard said in the
written statement.
Opponents of the fuel fee say the new cost
estimates mean that what they consider a bad
policy proposal is actually worse than it
initially seemed.
William Burke, the director of research at The
Beacon Hill Institute, said poor people would be
hit especially hard.
“TCI is a hidden gasoline tax that is going to
directly impact the average Massachusetts
household disposable income,” Burke told New
Boston Post in an email message. “Gasoline taxes
are regressive and lower income households
especially will be the ones who are most
adversely affected under TCI. When the prices of
gasoline and diesel are increased by this
magnitude, there will be a considerable
shrinkage in economic activity across the
state.”
Christopher Carlozzi, the state director for the
National Federation of Independent
Business-Massachusetts, said the projections
show how bad the Transportation and Climate
Initiative would be for small business owners.
“The new report shows it would cost an
additional 26 cents a gallon, meaning a small
business owner filling-up their pickup truck
would pay an additional $5.20 to $10.40,
depending on the size of the fuel tank — not to
mention fueling mowers or heavy equipment,” he
told New Boston Post in an email message.
“That’s a big hit to a small business owner’s
bottom line and every driver’s wallet.
“Many small businesses depend on fuel to conduct
business, and they will have to raise the price
of the goods and services they provide,” he
added. “That will increase consumer costs and
make Massachusetts much less competitive with
neighboring states and likely damage the state’s
economy.”
State Representative Shawn Dooley (R-Norfolk)
told New Boston Post he is not surprised by the
Fiscal Alliance Foundation’s latest report.
Dooley said the entire Transportation and
Climate Initiative process is flawed because it
does not go through the state legislature.
”I still believe the more concerning issue is
the creation of any taxation by executive order
bypassing the legislature,” Dooley said in an
email message. “Further, by joining a coalition
of other states we acquiesce our authority to
non elected people who have no loyalty or duty
to the Commonwealth. Issues of this magnitude
should be fully vetted, debated, and voted on in
full view of the citizenry.”
There does not appear to be much support for the
Transportation and Climate Initiative
carbon-emissions fuel fee in Massachusetts. A
Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance poll in late
January found that 61 percent of Bay Staters
disapprove of the proposal.
The proposed carbon-emissions fuel fee is not
the same as a gas tax increase, although both
measures would increase the price of gasoline
and diesel at gas stations.
The Massachusetts House of Representatives
approved on March 4 a bill that would increase
the state’s gasoline tax by 5 cents a gallon
(from 24 cents now to 29 cents) and the state’s
diesel tax by 9 cents a gallon (from 24 cents
now to 33 cents). That bill awaits action by the
Massachusetts Senate and, if it gets that far,
Governor Baker.
CommonWealth
Magazine
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
TCI: Meager benefits, high costs
Beacon Hill Institute study flags concerns
By William Burke and Laurie Belsito
The Transportation and Climate
Initiative bills itself as a regional
collaboration designed to improve
transportation, develop clean energy sources,
and reduce carbon emissions from the
transportation sector. To accomplish these
goals, TCI proposes implementing a regional “cap
and trade” scheme whereby a cap, established by
individual states in collaboration with regional
authorities, would be set on greenhouse gas
emissions from the combustion of finished
gasoline and on-road diesel. Emissions
allowances under the set cap level would then be
sold to the highest bidder at auctions region
wide.
With a cap on emissions from the final
consumption of finished gasoline and on-road
diesel, the price of both products will
increase. Essentially, TCI imposes a hidden tax
on both fuels.
Motor fuels such as gasoline and diesel are
vital components of economic activity.
Everything from the price of groceries to local
tourism is impacted by the price of motor fuels.
Gasoline taxes are regressive in nature insofar
as lower income households spend larger portions
of their income on gasoline.
The Fiscal Alliance Foundation commissioned the
Beacon Hill Institute to study the economic
impact that TCI would actually have on our state
economy, including the upfront costs average
residents will see. The study found that
emission caps as stringent as those proposed
under TCI could increase the price of finished
gasoline by as much as 26 cents per gallon and
increase the price of on-road diesel by as much
as 52 cents per gallon.
Using its “MA-STAMP” model, the Beacon Hill
Institute estimated the economic impacts of
various scenarios for implementing TCI in
Massachusetts. In the first year, under a 25
percent emissions cap, TCI would cost
Massachusetts residents over 9,000 jobs, over
$300 million in business investment, and over
$900 million in state gross domestic product. It
would increase the tax burden on the average
Massachusetts household by $738. While TCI would
create a new source of tax revenue,
Massachusetts would stand to incur considerable
losses in other revenue streams.
TCI fails to deliver benefits to justify its
substantial costs to the taxpayer.
Transportation sector emissions within the TCI
region total 340.6 million metric tons of carbon
dioxide equivalents, whereas emissions from
California, Florida, and Texas alone are 554.9
million metric tons, according to the most
recent data from the Environmental Information
Agency.
According to the PBL Netherlands Environmental
Assessment Agency, global emissions total 50.9
gigatons. The emissions affected by TCI
represent 0.6 percent of total global emissions.
Since global emissions are increasing year after
year, TCI will have negligible effects on
greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
While being a climate leader is considered
important, the massive costs incurred by
taxpayers under the Initiative will do little to
reverse or slow anthropogenic climate change
caused by greenhouse gas emissions.
— William Burke
is director of research at the Beacon Hill
Institute and Laurene Belsito is legislative
director of the Fiscal Alliance Foundation. |
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only. For more information go to:
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Citizens for Limited Taxation ▪
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