MA gubernatorial debate on Fox News: on Corporations

Christy Mihos: Property tax rollback will bring businesses back in-state

MIHOS: I’m a small business person. I know how difficult it is to run a small business, especially in the Commonwealth. The only way we’re going to get people coming into Massachusetts and investing back in here- whether large business, small business, or whatever- is we’ve got to roll back the property tax and Christy’s Proposition One does it. We’ve got to take the hurt out of living here. We can’t afford living here.

Deval Patrick: Local capital for local biz, & state pays for infrastructure

PATRICK: We’ve got to speed up the permitting and approval processes. I also think we have to do things to connect up good ideas with the capital they need to get started. Remember, it is small and medium businesses where most jobs get created and it’s a good idea looking for capital in a neighborhood. I also think we’ve got to reinvest in our infrastructure, because if the roads and bridges are falling apart businesses will leave.

Grace Ross: Focus on reducing costs for small biz, not big corporations

ROSS: I think it’s really critical that we understand that all of the tax breaks and most of the property breaks are only going to the very large corporations. Small business owners are concerned about health care costs and utility costs. We need real universal health coverage that’s going to take the health care burden off of those of us who are self-employed, off of small businesses and off of our municipalities. It’s a huge expense.

Kerry Healey: Make permitting process easier for businesses

HEALEY: Small businesses are facing an incredible challenge right now. When people are trying to expand, they can’t do it. If we really are serious about job creation, we need to roll back the income tax. And then finally, we need to work on our permitting process. Businesses can’t expand if they don’t know when they can get that shovel in the ground. We’ll continue to work hard to make it easier.