If the barrage of television ads opposing the income tax
relief question on the Nov. 7 ballot were to be believed, Question 4 is a risky tax relief scheme that would wreak havoc
on state education reform and other initiatives.
The warnings of catastrophic cuts in state services
predicted by opponents -- principally public employee unions and service providers -- fly in the face of reality.
The fact is, Massachusetts taxpayers have invested more than
$6 billion in new aid to improve public education since 1993 -- and no end to the commitment is in sight.
Moreover, state coffers have never been more flush. With
huge surpluses continuing to pile up, the Legislature has squirreled away about $4 billion in various "rainy day"
accounts.
All that money flowing in has been a sore temptation to
lawmakers. The state budget has been growing at three times the rate of inflation in recent years. In addition, the Legislature
has approved hundreds of million of dollars, over and above the annual budget, on "supplemental"
spending each year.
A "yes" on Question 4 would let taxpayers hold onto some of
their hard-earned money and decide ow to spend it themselves.
Also driving support for the ballot initiative is the matter
of principle.
When the Legislature raised the income tax rate in 1989 to
stave off insolvency after the collapse of the "Massachusetts miracle," lawmakers pledged it was a temporary increase.
More than a decade later, they have yet to make good on the promise.
Question 4 would right that decade-old wrong.
We are skeptical of government by initiative petition, but
referendums are justified when the Legislature defies the will of the people -- as on the income tax rollback.
Voters on Nov. 7 should cast an emphatic "yes" vote on
Question 4.