Survey of Gubernatorial campaign websites, 2010-2011: on Tax Reform

Bill Haslam: 100% opposed to a state income tax

Dennis Daugaard: No new taxes; no increases in existing taxes

John Kasich: Lower taxes to create competitive climate

To succeed we must lower taxes--Create a tax climate that allows Ohio to compete with other states to attract new businesses, foster job creation, and keep our precious, existing jobs here

Nikki Haley: 29 taxes out of 32 create little revenue but add bureaucracy

Allen Weh: Keep taxes in line with the states around us

If New Mexicans really want a growing, healthy economy with good paying jobs in a variety of sectors, then we need leaders who will do three simple things: keep taxes in line with the states around us, make our state government lean and efficient, and reduce unnecessary regulations.

The combination of excessive government spending, high taxes and irrational regulation kills jobs and makes us less competitive.

Andrew Cuomo: Freeze state taxes; cap local taxes; cap spending

• Freeze Taxes: Because New Yorkers--already among the most taxed in the nation--cannot afford to pay more taxes than they do already, Andrew Cuomo will freeze taxes: he not raise and will veto any increase in personal or corporate income taxes or sales tax.
• Impose a State Spending Cap: In order to address the financial crisis and permanently control State spending, a statutory and constitutional spending cap that requires the Governor to propose, and the Legislature to enact, a budget that limits State Operating Funds growth to the rate of inflation is necessary.
• Impose a Local Property Tax Cap: Spending must also be controlled at the local level. The local property tax cap would apply to all school districts and local governments and would be set at the lower of the inflation rate or two percent.

Charlie Baker: Make MA taxes competitive with other states

1. Establish a simple and equitable tax system to send a strong message to the business community that Massachusetts is a business-friendly state [with a flat 5% business tax rate]
2. Make Massachusetts' tax policies competitive with other states so that jobs are created here.
3. Provide businesses with a predictable set of rules on how to conduct business in Massachusetts, [including an] immediate moratorium on regulations.
4. Adopt a reasonable and effective statewide energy policy.
5. Regional Economic Development: There are many regions of this state that are struggling well-beyond the Boston metropolitan area. Most notable are the former industrial cities that anchor these regions which have been struggling with double digit unemployment figures for the past year and a half. The current approach to economic development in the state is leaving these cities and the surrounding regions behind.

Dan Malloy: Fairer and more progressive sharing of taxation

I will initiate long overdue comprehensive tax reform. Reform will be guided by 5 key goals:
• Be sustainable, comprehensive and address the balance of state & local taxation
• Provide for a fairer and more progressive sharing of taxation
• Ensure a greater state share of local funding for schools
• Strategically generate job growth and encourage business development
• Relieve the local property tax burden on low and middle income seniors, veterans, and individuals who are disabled.

Tom Foley: Aggressively reduce spending so we can reduce taxes

• I will compare our tax rates and tax policy to other states to be sure our taxes are not driving businesses and working families away from Connecticut
• I will aggressively reduce spending so that we can reduce taxes and still comply with our constitutional requirement to balance the state budget
• I will increase transparency so that Connecticut taxpayers aren't being hit with "stealth taxes" they cannot see, such as the gross receipts tax on gas stations
• I will work with the legislature to agree on a bi-partisan, long term tax policy for Connecticut that is based on sound economic policy and fairness, and which puts an end to the old-world politics of pitting groups of citizens or regions of the state against each other.

Jill Stein: Fees and sales taxes hit lower and middle income hardest

Beacon Hill has allowed the budget to be balanced by raising a number of taxes and fees that hit working people hard. They have raised the sales tax, college tuition, MBTA fares, and tobacco taxes. By cutting aid to cities and towns, legislators have forced hikes in property taxes.

When all state and local taxes are considered, lower and middle income people in Massachusetts are paying at twice the rate of the top 1% highest income bracket. This is not a fair system, and Beacon Hill has made it even more unfair with tax hikes over the past decade.

Jill Stein will fight any attempt to balance the budget through tax or fee hikes that hit ordinary taxpayers. She will stand for the fairness solution--which means closing any budget gap by asking higher-income taxpayers to pay something closer to the rate that most people have been experiencing for years.

Charlie Baker: Signed the no-new taxes pledge

"The eight tax increases of the past four years have cost Massachusetts jobs," said Baker. "Governor Patrick and Treasurer Cahill have been advocating for and pushing for those higher taxes for the past four years and it's time for a new team to take Massachusetts in a new direction."

Baker and Tisei have signed the "No New Taxes' pledge, reinforcing their plans to turn Massachusetts' economy around by reforming and restructuring state government, rather than raising taxes. Baker supports reducing the income tax, sales tax and business tax rate to 5 percent and will push for those tax cuts upon taking office.

Cary Kennedy: Colorado Tax Tracks: see how taxes are spent, online

The interactive website, called Colorado Tax Tracks, is the first state website of its kind in America. It gives people detailed information on an individual or family basis about how their state tax dollars are used. Information is broken down so that taxpayers can see what they spend on nearly one hundred functions of government, from clean drinking water inspections to disease control.

Rick Scott: Reducing property tax by 1 mill saves $142 per homeowner