Budget

budget and local aid updates, community preservation act, financial outlook, local aid policy, priorities/requests, resources, revenue, taxes

Tax Expenditures Imposed on Local Governments

With regard to tax expenditures, I think it is important that the legislature review and reconsider the many tax expenditures it has imposed on local governments.  Millions of local tax dollars are lost as a result of the huge local property tax breaks private golf courses and public utilities receive.  For example, the Oakley Country …

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Progress on Controlling Special Interest Tax Breaks

Many citizens would welcome lower taxes, but most also question the effectiveness of special tax breaks for particular groups or industries. Special tax breaks tend to encourage crony capitalism by placing the government in the position of picking winners and losers in the economy. Fortunately, we have recently started to make some progress towards bringing special interest tax breaks under better control.

Long Term Fiscal Policy Framework

The Patrick administration, in collaboration with the legislature, has been doing a good job focusing on long-term financial issues. Click here for the state’s long-term financial model. In a nutshell, the model says that if we can get health costs under control and the economy continues to recover, we will be able to sustain our …

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