State of Massachusetts Archives: on Tax Reform

Ayanna Pressley: Our tax code should relieve the 99%

Don Berwick: Ask people with higher incomes to pay higher rates

A: "Massachusetts needs an income tax structure that asks people with higher incomes to pay higher rates and people with lower incomes to pay lower rates."

Ed Markey: Higher-income people should pay their fair share of taxes

Markey said that he wanted to keep laws in place that were enacted after the financial crisis, but "Mr. Gomez believes those regulations are too tough."

Martha Coakley: Bush tax cuts favor wealthy Americans

Scott Brown: Maintain Bush tax cuts after 2010

Martha Coakley: AdWatch: Get taxes up from more employment, not tax increase

"We do need to get out of this recession, also. And that requires, I think, looking at a couple of things. There's no magic bullet to this. We need to get people back to work, we need to get taxes up, and we'll start to chip away at that deficit."

The Boston Globe sided with Coakley on this, saying in a news story that her words were being taken out of context and that she actually "seemed to suggest that the economy needed to improve so that tax collections would rise."

Scott Brown: 15 percent across the board tax cut

Brown has said he supports a 15 percent across the board tax cut, which would certainly include "the wealthiest" but would flow to people at all income levels.

Martha Coakley: Extend Bush tax cuts for the lowest four tax brackets

On economic growth and taxes:
• Let Bush tax cuts for wealthiest 2 percent expire, increasing income taxes on individuals earning more than $250,000.
• Extend Bush tax cuts for the lowest four tax brackets, along with the child-tax credit and reduced marriage penalty.
• Offer small businesses a tax credit to hire certain workers.
• Expand job training and tax breaks on college tuition.
• Make the federal research and development tax credit permanent.

Martha Coakley: Some taxes are investments like for infrastructure & schools

Scott Brown: Permanently eliminate the estate tax

State Sen. Scott Brown on economic growth and taxes:
• Supports a 15 percent "across-the-board tax cut," including corporate and payroll taxes.
• Extend all Bush tax cuts from 2001 and 2003.
• Permanently eliminate the estate tax, sometimes referred to as the "death tax."
• Opposes cap-and-trade legislation to curb emissions because of its financial impact on businesses.
• Opposes federal expansion of health-care spending.

Alan Khazei: Supports a war tax to pay for Afghanistan surge

Martha Coakley also said she would consider it, but Rep. Michael Capuano said he would not. "I would vote for a tax for a moral war, if I thought it was right," said Capuano. "I will not vote, not only for taxes, I will not vote for funding for this surge, either, as I have not voted for the funding in Iraq, either."

Martha Coakley: Consider a war tax to pay for Afghanistan surge

Martha Coakley also said she would consider it, but Rep. Michael Capuano said he would not. "I would vote for a tax for a moral war, if I thought it was right," said Capuano. "I will not vote, not only for taxes, I will not vote for funding for this surge, either, as I have not voted for the funding in Iraq, either."

Stephen Pagliuca: Job Focused Tax Reform: incentives, training, & funding

The newest facet of Steve's job growth plan focuses on four simple and targeted changes to America's aging tax code. These changes will work both to reform executive compensation and create good, lasting jobs of the future. There are four critical principles necessary to spur job growth:
• Incent businesses to create jobs--this should be the focus of any tax reform in the current economic climate
• Train our workforce for the jobs of the future to ensure that the US retains a global comparative advantage
• Create policies that lead to responsible corporate behavior
• Develop funding mechanisms that will not increase the deficit.

Jeff Beatty: Abolishing state income tax would act as economic stimulus

But Beatty said the abolition of the state income tax would act as an economic stimulus for families and businesses and would bring more jobs and opportunities to the state.

John Kerry: Abolishing state income tax would be calamitous

But Beatty said the abolition of the state income tax would act as an economic stimulus for families and businesses and would bring more jobs and opportunities to the state.

Christy Mihos: Get money out of Beacon Hill and back to cities & towns

MIHOS: Well it’s not local property taxes, it’s local property assessments for residences and businesses. Look, under the Republican’s administration, they’ve been in charge for 16 years, the Democrats have been in power forever. Massachusetts has become unaffordable. We have to do it, we have to get the money back out of Beacon Hill, back to the cities and towns and it can be done. We’ve run billion plus dollar surpluses in revenue over the last three years. This money is sitting up there on Beacon Hill. They’re giving it to the Turnpike Authority, $31 million to start the Rose Kennedy Greenway up again with your money, they’re giving it to the Red Sox and their corporate neighbors to upgrade the infrastructure up around Fenway Park. That’s your money, that’s money that should be going back to the cities and towns, not to the special interests.

Christy Mihos: Roll back taxes but restore local aid

MIHOS: I’m for it. The people voted overwhelmingly for it. I’ll work the legislature to get it done over time, certainly. Statutorily it’s being done as we sit here, but this administration has taken local aid away from this cities and towns. They’re starving. They’ve taken well over $2 billion in local aid away from the cities and towns so the property taxes have gone up.

Deval Patrick: Cut property tax; expand circuit breaker & senior exemption

PATRICK: Well, no is the answer to that. I think it’s a mistake to roll the income tax back to 5% right now. I think we can do it but we have to grow the economy so that we can afford to do it. I think its interesting to be lectured on taxes by the Lt. Gov., whose administration is responsible for $985 million of new taxes and fees. That’s what’s come from this administration. What I want to do is cut the property tax. I want to expand the senior exemption for property taxes and the circuit breaker. I want to extend them to low and moderate income home owners. I want to eliminate all those nuisance fees for playing on a high school team or parking in the school parking lot, and I want to restore local aid so we can get property taxes down and keep them down.

Deval Patrick: Tax rollback is shell game, shifting burden to property tax

HEALEY: By rolling back the income tax we’ll put more money into working peoples’ pockets, and I have a plan to take pressure off our local taxes as well by reforming our pension system, and allowing our cities and towns to invest their pensions with our state treasurer’s office. That will take literally hundreds of millions of dollars that is wasted right now and put it back onto the plate of our cities and towns and that will relieve the pressure on local taxes.

PATRICK: We’ve been playing the fiscal shell game with this administration. This is an administration that talks about rolling the income tax back and is responsible at the same time for proposing $985 million in new taxes and increased fees. $1.8 billion in increases in property taxes. That’s all about shifting the burden. Let’s be clear and candid with each other. People are ready for the truth. We can afford a 5% income rate when the economy has expanded to enable it.

Grace Ross: We don’t have enough income tax

ROSS: I support the idea that we shouldn’t be rolling back the state income tax. Our taxes have gone through the roof because we don’t have enough income tax and so the local cities and towns are raising property taxes. Those hit the rest of us. The income tax is the only thing that folks at the top actually have to pay the same amount as the folks at the bottom. Fees and property taxes tend to hit folks at the lower end more.

Grace Ross: Tax rollback kills cities via property tax increase of 35%

ROSS: This no new tax pledge -- anybody at the state level who wants to argue that you’re not raising taxes because you’re rolling back the income tax is just not telling the truth. That’s why we’ve got property taxes at 35% or 42% above what they were before. Our cities and towns are dying, but they need increased minimum wages, help to the small businesses and things like that.

Grace Ross: Tax rollback gives middle class $100s, but $100,000s to rich

Kerry Healey: Avoid property tax increases by reducing waste

HEALEY: By rolling back the income tax we’ll put more money into working peoples’ pockets, and I have a plan to take pressure off our local taxes as well by reforming our pension system, and allowing our cities and towns to invest their pensions with our state treasurer’s office. That will take literally hundreds of millions of dollars that is wasted right now and put it back onto the plate of our cities and towns and that will relieve the pressure on local taxes.

PATRICK: We’ve been playing the fiscal shell game with this administration. This is an administration that talks about rolling the income tax back and is responsible at the same time for proposing $985 million in new taxes and increased fees. $1.8 billion in increases in property taxes. That’s all about shifting the burden. Let’s be clear and candid with each other. People are ready for the truth. We can afford a 5% income rate when the economy has expanded to enable it.

Kerry Healey: Failure to roll back taxes cost people $2 billion since 2000

HEALEY: The people of this state voted overwhelmingly back in the year 2000 to cut the tax rate to 5 percent. Since that time they have paid in $2 billion in extra taxes that we didn’t need. The last two years we’ve had billion dollar budget surpluses, each of those years. Now the legislature has spent that money. We need to take it off the table in order to have fiscal discipline and my opponent cannot provide that.

Christy Mihos: Set aside 40% of state revenue for local aid

Deval Patrick: Restore local aid so towns can cut property taxes

Deval Patrick: Supports local meals tax and local-option taxes

Kerry Healey: More local aid, to keep property taxes low

Kerry Healey: Opposes local meals tax and local-option taxes

Tom Reilly: Lift lottery fund cap to increase local aid

Steve Grossman: Fund health care with greater cigarette tax

Steve Grossman: Supports income tax rollback