When it became apparent the Legislature was not going to roll back the
"temporary" 5.95 percent state income tax to the pre-1989 rate of 5 percent,
Gov. Paul Cellucci threw his political weight behind a referendum initiative to accomplish
that goal.
The referendum is sponsored by Citizens for Limited
Taxation and Government, the advocacy group that championed Proposition 2½.
Now CLT and the governor have come through.
Using the formidable resources of Gov. Cellucci's campaign organization, the tax
cut referendum has collected more than twice the 57,100 signatures required to ensure the
issue will appear on the ballot next year.
It is reasonable to believe voters will use the opportunity to achieve a tax cut
denied them by their elected representatives.
The leadership in the Legislature would be wise to begin to trim spending and draw
up budget plans that reflect the potential loss of $1.4 billion in revenues over the three
years of the phased-in tax rollback.
There will be vigorous opposition by some lawmakers and public employee unions.
But the message should be heard by the tax-and-spend crowd: Bay State voters resent being
saddled in flush times with a regressive tax that was passed as an emergency measure to
stave off bankruptcy when the "Massachusetts Miracle" of the Dukakis years
collapsed.
Thanks to CLT and Gov. Cellucci, people will have a chance to speak out next
November.