The Massachusetts House's top budget writer said Thursday he won't include "a penny of
new taxes" in the House budget plan, but will instead slash $2 billion from state government.
Associated Press
Mar. 15, 2002
House budget chief pledges no new taxes,
$2 billion in cuts
Acting Gov. Jane Swift proposed using $400 million
from the state's Rainy Day Fund in 2002 and cutting spending across the board by 3 to 5 percent in 2003
to solve the state's fiscal crisis.
Swift also proposed spending all of the money the state expects to receive from the tobacco
settlement estimated at $300 million to balance the budget next year rather than raising taxes.
"Raising taxes should be the last resort, not the first resort," Swift said.
Associated Press
Mar. 15, 2002
Swift proposes spending reserves to balance budget
"No one is talking about raising taxes," House Ways and
Means Chairman John Rogers declared yesterday, a complete reversal of what he's been threatening for weeks.
If this is true, just what was the purpose to the House
"Revenue Working Group," that recently held three dog-and-pony show "public hearings" across the state?
And why did Speaker Finneran schedule April 29 to vote on
probable tax increases?
If you hadn't yet figured out what we're up against, this
should cement your appreciation.
Is there anyone who read his letter who didn't then believe
he was encouraging a host of tax increases ... anyone even among his "colleagues"?
He now says that he won't include new taxes "in the House
budget plan." Will he then propose tax increases elsewhere?
Or, does he figure that what he proposed are not "new" tax
increases, but instead the reinstatement of old taxes? Very Clintonesque, possibly.
Remember how "temporary" was later defined by those who'd
made the promise and those who were responsible for keeping it.
We have learned to parse words.
We have learned their game.
We didn't get this cynical without good cause.
But on the bright, positive side, perhaps he realizes that
the two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate needed to override the governor's promised veto just is not there; that
proposing tax increases as the economy begins to rebound will not fly.
And thanks to Acting Gov. Swift for standing fast on her "no
new taxes" pledge, forcing that two-thirds vote in the Legislature. Without it, there would not be this public
retreat, for whatever purpose.
Prepare for the upcoming onslaught of "blood on the streets
without tax increases" hysteria. I predict that's the game plan: cut where it hurts the most, as usual: and they'll pour
the blood, liberally.
Associated Press
Friday, March 15, 2002
House budget chief pledges no new taxes,
$2 billion in cuts
By Steve Leblanc
BOSTON (AP) The Massachusetts House's top budget writer said
Thursday he won't include "a penny of new taxes" in the House budget plan, but will instead slash $2 billion from
state government.
The announcement came just two weeks after House leaders
distributed a list of 16 possible tax increases and House Speaker Thomas Finneran warned representatives to be prepared
to hike taxes.
"There will be no tax increases in the House Ways and Means
budget. Not one," said House Ways and Means Chairman John Rogers, D-Norwood. "The budget we'll be putting together
will be eliminating agencies, programs, changing substantially the face of Massachusetts
government."
Rogers dismissed the list of tax hikes he and other House
leaders distributed to members in a Feb. 27 closed-door caucus. He said there was "no rationale" why some tax hikes were on
the list and others omitted.
Some House members had complained that the list targeted
senior homeowners, students and single parents but spared defense contractors, mutual fund companies and other
corporations.
"There was literally no rhyme or reason (to the list),"
Rogers said. "No one is talking about raising taxes."
During the caucus, however, Finneran told lawmakers to be
ready to hike taxes.
"If you're absolutely dead set against tax increases, and
that's been your position historically through your political career, you're going to have to re-examine that," Finneran said
he told representatives.
Finneran has repeated the need for new taxes during a recent
tour of cities and towns.
In an interview with The Sun of Lowell last week, Finneran
predicted a 50-cents a pack hike in the cigarette tax, and said the Legislature will have to take a hard look at not only
freezing the income tax rate at 5.3 percent, but increasing it to 5.6 percent.
The existence of the list has already produced a backlash on
Beacon Hill.
Liberal Democratic lawmakers said they hoped to team with
Republicans to fight the type of hikes suggested.
Liberals say the hikes unfairly target working families
instead of corporations. Republicans say new taxes would slow the state's fiscal recovery.
"The list of possible tax increases is appalling," said Rep.
James Marzilli, D-Arlington. "They fall disproportionately on the backs of working poor and middle class families."
Rep. Francis Marini, the House Republican leader, said he is
opposed to the tax hikes.
"This isn't just a government recession. This is a recession
that affects the people of Massachusetts," Marini said.
Marzilli said state should consider raising the tax rate for
capital gains and other options.
Capital gains taxes are taxes on the sale of property and
investments. Currently investors who hold onto their property or investments for more than six years pay no taxes.
Under the House list, the capital gains tax would be
increased to 2 percent. Marzilli said it should be increased to match the income tax rate of 5.3 percent.
Acting Gov. Jane Swift, a Republican, pledged Thursday to
veto any tax hike.
Any talk of hikes should include the half-dozen corporate
tax cuts of the early 1990s, said Rep. Paul Demakis, D-Boston. Demakis said he isn't opposed to new taxes, but wants to
make sure everyone shares the pain.
Business leaders have defended the cuts, saying they helped
pull the state out of its last recession.
Since Swift is expected to veto any tax hike, a coalition of
Republican lawmakers and liberal-leaning Democrats could block an override in the House, Demakis said.
The House is expected to begin debating taxes and the budget
at the end of April.
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Associated Press
Friday, March 15, 2002
Swift proposes spending reserves to balance budget
By Leslie Miller
BOSTON (AP) Acting Gov. Jane Swift proposed using $400 million
from the state's Rainy Day Fund in 2002 and cutting spending across the board by 3 to 5 percent in 2003 to solve
the state's fiscal crisis.
Swift also proposed spending all of the money the state
expects to receive from the tobacco settlement estimated at $300 million to balance the budget next year rather than
raising taxes.
"Raising taxes should be the last resort, not the first
resort," Swift said.
Swift has to deal with two sets of budget problems: first,
tax revenues have been lower than expected for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30; and second, revenues will
probably be about $700 million lower than projected in Swift's 2003 budget proposal, something she
has acknowledged.
The proposal was slammed by human services advocates who say
she has broken her promises to protect disabled people, at-risk children and low-income elderly.
"It is time for her to show true maturity and leadership by
abandoning her now mindless "no new taxes" zealotry and recognizing that the only fair way out of this mess is a
reasoned and reasonable use of reserve accounts, spending cuts, and progressive revenue enhancements,"
said Stephen Collins, executive director of the Massachusetts Human Services
Coalition.
Swift's chief of staff, Stephen Crosby, said the proposal
will not be free of pain.
"You might easily be talking about another 1,000 to 2,000
jobs being cut," he said. "If it means lopping people off, we'll lop people off."
House Speaker Thomas Finneran has painted a far bleaker
picture, saying the state's budget deficit may be as much as $3 billion for the balance of 2002 and 2003. Some legislative
leaders say freezing a voter-approved income-tax cut must be considered, as well as possible
tax increases.
House Ways and Means Chairman John Rogers, D-Norwood, said
Swift is underestimating the magnitude of the budget crisis.
"If she pulls her head out of the ground, she'll see the
fiscal chaos all around her," he said.
Rogers said he plans to produce a budget proposal that
relies on $2 billion in cuts and will avoid tax hikes. The plan will require thousands of layoffs, he said.
"We have to downsize drastically," he said. "The budget
we'll be putting together will be eliminating agencies, programs, changing substantially the face of Massachusetts
government."
Rogers said everything is negotiable, including using more
of the tobacco fund to cover the deficit and lowering payments to the state pension fund.
House leaders had previously rejected both proposals.
Swift's proposal to cut $200 million from local aid to
cities and towns next year would force communities to cut public safety and public education or hike property taxes, said
Geoff Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association.
"I don't think there's anyone who suggests that local
governments are spending too much educating children, repairing roads or policing the streets," he said.
Swift has cut spending by $155 million using her emergency
powers, but even with those cuts there will still be a $500 million budget gap, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers
Foundation.
The income-tax rollback will cost the state $450 million,
according to the Taxpayers Foundation.
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