Income Tax Repeal is Just Pure Folly

Income tax repeal is just pure folly

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Anti-tax activists are at it again. A group calling itself the Committee for Small Government launched a campaign over the weekend to abolish the Massachusetts state income tax.

It's a ludicrous proposal, of course - one that would have disastrous consequences for cities and towns in the commonwealth. That said, the measure could end up on the November ballot - if recent history is any gauge of its surface appeal.

Six years ago, state officials ignored a similar ballot push. The move to abolish the income tax was viewed as a minor annoyance - not worth campaigning against. State officials reasoned that voters would see the folly of such a plan and reject it out of hand. But it was a close vote. Anti-government sentiment was stronger than they expected, with 45 percent of the voters approving the measure.

Taxpayers have legitimate gripes against wild government spending. Projects like the Big Dig immediately leap to mind, for example.

Voting against taxes can be cathartic. It makes voters feel good at the time they cast their ballots.

This time around, a coalition of city and town officials is poised to counter the anti-tax push with a campaign of its own - one pointing out that the tax-cutting measure would cost the state roughly $12.7 billion - about 40 percent of the budget.

Cutting $12 billion would have a crippling effect on government. A private policy consultant who studies the state budget said laying off every state employee would only save about $5 billion.

Those state employees are family members, friends and neighbors. They contribute to our economy - and our quality of life.

We hope citizens of the commonwealth grasp the seriousness of underfunding government and resist the move to abolish income taxes.

With the commonwealth facing a budget shortfall this year - one that is sure to put more pressure on the finances of most cities and towns - abolishing the income tax would be catastrophic.