Perhaps the main things to underline at this stage are: (a) nothing at all is settled yet about the budget, reform or revenue; (b) all the major players endorse the principle of reform before revenue and are trying to do the right thing.
Taxes
Voting for a sales tax increase
Even with the sales tax increase, the budget will sustain deep cuts and Massachusetts will have a roughly average tax burden compared to other states. The increase will fund local aid, Big Dig debt and limited restorations of key programs.
Income tax reform
A proposal to raise the personal income tax exemption and simultaneously raise the rate — so as to make the income tax more progressive — has merit, but it is not politically viable at this time.
Gas Tax
Most feedback to me has been overwhelmingly supportive of the gas tax — simple, fairer than high tolls, environmentally sound, definitely needed, a broad-based mechanism to fund a broadly-used commonwealth asset.
Gas tax increase
A conversation is developing about the gas tax and also about how to protect low and middle-income tax payers from additional financial stress.
How does the House of Representatives propose to close the FY2009 budget gap?
The major elements of the emerging House approach to the budget are essentially the same as in the Governor’s proposal, except that, instead of casino revenues, the House proposes to levy a cigarette tax.