THE ISSUE
The Massachusetts Legislature voted against a measure to roll back the state income tax from 5.95
percent to 5 percent.
OUR VIEW
The promise the Legislature made in 1989 that the tax hike would be "temporary" is worthless.
It was a simple promise, the one the Massachusetts Legislature made in 1989.
We need help, the Legislature told the people they represent. We want to raise state income taxes from
5 percent to 5.95 percent—a temporary increase—to get us through these hard times and pay off some
debt. When things get better, we’ll return the tax rate to its permanent level of 5 percent.
That was the promise.
Last week it was broken.
The House rejected by an overwhelming 118-34 margin a plan to lower the state tax rate from 5.95
percent to 5 percent. Local Republicans voted in favor of the cut. Local Democrats, with the sole
exception of Rep. Barry R. Finegold of Andover, voted against it. Rep. Brian S. Dempsey of Haverhill
missed the vote but said later he would have cast his ballot for it.
Instead, legislators say there is strong support to cut the tax rate to 5.7 percent. A half-hearted attempt
at keeping a promise apparently is good enough for this Legislature.
The full tax cut would have saved the average family of four $600 in state taxes per year. Instead, they
may get about $120 per year.
If not now, when will the promise to roll back the tax to 5 percent be fulfilled? It is difficult to imagine
better economic times in Massachusetts. Unemployment is low. State coffers are overflowing with an
anticipated surplus this year of $600 million. The state’s "rainy day" account has around $1 billion in
reserve for possible bad times ahead.
How could things be much better?
Still, legislators who opposed the rollback say it would not be fiscally prudent to cut taxes so quickly.
This from the same people who, when they learned there would be a $600 million surplus this year,
quickly came up with new ways to spend about half of it.
Prudent? Waving money in front of this Legislature is like handing a can of gasoline to a compulsive
arsonist—you know he’ll find some way to use it.
In the past 23 years, the "permanent" tax rate has been in place for just three years, the "temporary"
rate for 20. The Legislature has seen fit to make that 21.
The word "temporary" means as much to the Legislature as "promise" does.
Absolutely nothing.