If South Shore voters have their way, a ballot question to
roll back the state income tax will pass by an overwhelming majority in Tuesday's election.
A new poll finds 73 percent of registered voters on the
South Shore will vote for Question 4 on the Nov. 7 ballot, which seeks to roll back the state income tax rate from 5.85 to
5 percent over three years.
The poll, conducted for The Patriot Ledger by the Institute
for Regional Development at Bridgewater State College, found 27 percent of South Shore voters oppose Question 4, which
is expected to reduce state revenues by an estimated $1.2 billion.
"On the tax rollback, that should be done," said Susan
Peckham of Weymouth, who participated in the poll. "They promised it, it should be done. You could tax people 90 percent
and they'd still find ways to want more."
Peckham referred to promises made by Beacon Hill legislators
in the late 1980s that increases to the state income tax were "temporary" and would be reduced once the economy improved.
Another poll participant, Jeff Doughty of Quincy, isn't sold
on the tax rollback. He thinks the state income tax rate should remain where it is, and that any surplus in state revenues
should be used to shore up social services.
"I do think one of the roles of government is to redistribute wealth," Doughty said.
"Across-the-board income tax cuts tend to favor the wealthy." ...
How the poll was conducted
The poll was conducted for The Patriot Ledger and the
Enterprise of Brockton by the Institute for Regional Development at Bridgewater State College.
Trained interviewers administered the survey with randomly
selected residents of 30 cities and towns in Bristol and Plymouth counties and 11 communities in southern Norfolk
County.
A total of 372 telephone interviews were conducted between
Oct. 20 and 25. The margin of error is 5 percent.