NEWS RELEASE
October 31, 2000
Contact: John Brockelman, (617) 423-2000
Five more newspapers endorse a "YES" vote on 4
Lowell Sun, Metro West Daily News, Lawrence Eagle-Tribune, Fitchburg-Leominster
Sentinel, & Haverhill Gazette join growing chorus of "Yes On 4" to rollback the state income
tax to 5%.
In addition to endorsements from the Boston Herald, Cape Cod Times, Worcester Telegram
& Gazette, and the Providence Journal the following five newspapers endorsed "Yes On 4":
Lowell Sun, 10/30/00
"The tax cut would save the median income family in the Commonwealth approximately $450 a
year in state taxes, an amount that House Speaker Thomas Finneran, an opponent of the
rollback, acknowledges is 'a lot to any ordinary person.'... The Commonwealth can afford to
keep its promise to the taxpayers, and the taxpayers deserve better tax treatment from their Legislature. Vote YES on Question 4 to make the Legislature honor its long-overdue obligation to reduce our tax burden to 5 percent."
MetroWest Daily News, 10/30/00
"This is a tax cut we can afford. Over the last five years, while tax cuts were trimming more than $2 billion a year from the state revenues, annual spending by state government still grew by $4 billion. The state treasury is well-prepared should an economic downturn threaten revenues, but so far the receipts keep growing. The surplus for the current fiscal year is growing at a pace to top $1 billion, making Question 4 even less risky than it appeared at the beginning of this year ... Contrary to the exaggerations of its opponents, Question 4 will not force any cuts in current programs .... Question 4 will protect Massachusetts from another downturn by putting a stake through the heart of 'Taxachusetts'. We recommend a YES vote."
Lawrence Eagle Tribune, 10/29/00
"Question 4: State income tax rollback. Yes. When the legislators in 1989 raised state income taxes to deal with a fiscal crisis, they promised the increase was temporary and the tax rate would be returned to its 'permanent' level of 5 percent. Since then, legislators have: Denied they ever made a promise. Admitted there was a promise but claimed it was made by a previous Legislature and so is not binding on them. Admitted they made a promise but claimed it was kept through other tax-relief measures. These are lies. Rolling the income tax rate back to 5 percent in three steps will return to taxpayers, in a fair manner, about $1 billion of surplus revenues extracted from them"
Fitchburg-Leominster Sentinel, 10/30/00
"We have few opportunities to hold our Legislature to its word. Campaign promises are often broken with few if any consequences. Now is our chance to hold government to its word and put some extra cash into our pockets ... If we take our money back, we can force state lawmakers to adhere to fiscal responsibility, to solve problems with their heads rather than with our pocketbooks. We favor a "Yes" vote on Question 4."
Haverhill Gazette, 10/26/00
"Question 4 does away with the income tax surcharge imposed by the legislature during a fiscal crisis 11 years ago. The crisis is long gone. Repealing the surcharge has not gone very far on Beacon Hill ... The Gazette urges a "yes" vote on Question 4... "
Roll It Back!