Citizens for Limited Taxation & Government
18 Tremont Street #608 * Boston, MA 02108
Phone: (617) 248-0022 * E-Mail: cltg@cltg.org
Visit our web-page at: http://cltg.org
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*** CLT&G Update ***
Thursday, April 17, 1997

Greeting folks!

Looks like we'll never see any of those "temporary" Dukakis tax increases returned. "They" will have even more of our earnings to spend later this year as the Dukakis bonds are paid in full and the "crisis" that required the "emergency" tax-hikes of the late-80s is paid off. Then, "They" can (and likely will!) spend all that extra money too, creating more, bigger, and louder government-dependent constituencies that just "can't be cut without killing the children and throwing the elderly out on the street".

It's pretty obvious now that we'll never see a dime of it returned -- unless we act unilaterally and make it happen soon. It might be time to start thinking about a tax take-back initiative petition for the 1998 ballot (the soonest it could appear if we started this fall) -- before it's too late.

Before "They" spend all of our money on "unmet needs" and pay us back with more excuses . . .

Chip Ford
Co-director

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Boston Herald
Thursday, April 17, 1997

Lead Editorial
The state grabs every dime

You have to hand it to the members of the Massachusetts House -- they have an incredible sense of timing.

While most mere mortals were busting their butts to get their tax returns done this week, House members were voting -- largely along party lines -- to make sure taxpayers don't get to see one extra dime back from the state government. The $18.3 billion House budget for the fiscal year beginning July fills the state's so-called rainy day fund to the brim -- just in case the economy takes a downturn -- and still has more than But the members scuttled efforts to help the poor beleaguered taxpayer who's trying to support a child (the House turned down a $1,000 increase in the deduction there) or maybe counts on a buck or two from interest payments on savings (the House rejected a bid to lower that rate gradually from its current 12 percent to the same 5.95 percent levied on wages).

In the name of fiscal prudence and orderly legislating -- but never, of course, in the name of political gamesmanship -- the House voted to "study" all those possible tax breaks.

"There's plenty of time to evaluate this," said House Speaker Tom Finneran, insisting that he is interested in at least four of the seven tax cuts proposed by Gov. William Weld.

Well, the nature of life on Beacon Hill is that money not committed to tax cuts early in the legislative cycle will evaporate into programs, patronage or pork. And if Tom Finneran thinks he's going to ride in on a white house and "rescue" taxpayers at some future date, he may well find his Democratic colleagues in both houses have sold the horse and his sword right out from under him.


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