The Taunton Gazette
Saturday, June 1, 2002
A Gazette editorial
In a twist, residents calling for more taxes
For whatever the reason, there is little alarm among
Massachusetts' taxpayers over the spiraling tax revenue deficit.
If there is a month in which tax receipts can be expected to
go up, or at least level off, it is April, the month of income tax returns. But turning into May, and as the House sent its
budget to the Senate, the Department of Revenue was announcing that tax receipts in early
May were $170 million less than expected.
The shortfall was attributed to the fall-off in capital
gains taxes, indicating again how much of the state's tax revenue was tied to capital gains. It was the locomotive that
pulled the economic train, and the mistake was budget makers failing to realize that the engine could run
out of steam.
Blame governors and legislators for not recognizing that,
but remember that just behind us was an era in which Wall Street was considered the safe way of putting your money to
work for you. This confidence went so far as to lead to serious discussion of investing Social
Security funds in the stock market, or at least allowing workers the right to invest part
of their Social Security tax.
The market's tumble has put an end to most of that kind of
talk. It also is continuing to wreak havoc on the state budget. The latest decline in tax receipts undoubtedly will necessitate
the state dipping into the so-called "rainy day" fund again just to get through to the next fiscal
year, beginning July 1.
And the oddity among those on Beacon Hill is the amount of
mail lawmakers are continuing to receive, not in opposition to tax increases, but asking for more of them. This is
unparalleled in perhaps the history of any state, taxpayers standing up and declaring they
prefer to retain programs and protect jobs and to heck with what it might cost them in taxes.
A conclusion gaining support is that the number on the
public payroll has swelled so much over the years that nearly every family in the commonwealth has a member or a relative, or
knows someone down the street, who is employed in the public sector and who would suffer
from program cuts or the elimination of jobs.
Those who aren't affected in some way by such cutbacks are
fast becoming the minority taxpayers, and this offers a whole new game for lawmakers.
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