Campaign for communities want a higher tax rate to fund unions. you deserve the government you elect, now pay up and shut up.

This Governor is relentless in his pusuit of taxing us into the stone age.  He has appointed more firends and hacks  than anyone I can remember and has got caught, yet he gets a free pass ? Our Governor is now giving us the farewell finger with his ridiculous tax proposals, but what does he care its not his money. Remember this was the guy that promised to lowesr our Real estate taxes in order to get elected. "Together We Can" was the mantra used and some people bought it !  Thanks again Tim Cahill for his second term

  Hopefully our legislators will realize they will need our vote to get reelected and comeback with a sensible budget not loaded with special interest feel good projects like expanding the rail service and bloating the education budget and focus on what really needs to be fixed or repaired. While focusing in on this issue they should be looking at cost saving reforms and there are plenty of them not just taxing their constituents relentlessly.

NO WAY!!! My paycheck has already gone down this year and I haven't had a raise in 5 years. How about Patrick and the other fat cats at the state house take a paycut and pay more for health insurance? Furthermore, how about you take that casino money to finance transportation and schools? It is no help to the economy and working people to cut paychecks again!!! We must speak out and contact our represenatives and say NO WAY if you want my vote next election.

So, who will live in Mass and pay these taxes along with a healthy dose of "Cost of Living?" Not retires, that is for sure!

"Patrick’s tax and spending plans will be carefully scrutinized, not rubber stamped."......hahahahahahahaha....thanks for the laugh...the crappy 2.3% raise that I had to fight for is now not worth the fight....but I'm glad that our leaders have us laughing as they fist us....

Absolute unmitigated arrogance. First, there is no "economic recovery", and unions and self-interested groups are already fighting over who should get to carve up the pie. The Governor sees the horizon ahead, and wants to do something to please the folks who boosted him into office, and to whom he made promises. So, we get what? Higher taxes on our sweat and labor, re-routed to public employee unions? Trains to nowhere? How the devil does a train to Fall River solve the existing problems with the MBTA? If you cannot make metropolitan Boston mass transit or commuter rail to the affluent suburbs pay for itself, how will isolated spurs to less developed areas (or seasonal runs to the Cape) pay their own way? What we are witnessing is Patrick's version of the redistribution of wealth; taking more and more money from working people, and spending it on more publically funded boondoggles that will benefit only unions, whose members will build the facilities and man the trains - at ever increasing cost. Will somebody in the Statehouse please display a modicum of integrity, and resist this urge to take and spend?

Enough already [starts looking for better job in Texas, New Hampshire or elsewhere]. There are two classes of people is Massachusetts, the working class and the non-working class. And those of us in the first categories can't continue to pay high taxes, EBT, Medicaid, and for all of these political hacks.

The whole country is laughing at you Massachusetts voters! You wanted him, now you got him, so pay up.... 

If the money actually went to the MBTA I think a tax on miles driven makes perfect sense. The more you drive the more you pay. It would be the perfect positive message to send people who are otherwise disengaged from the idea that their actions have an effect on others.

The condition of our state's and nation's transportation infrastructure is a travesty. Roadway and transit are basic necessities and there's no other way to pay for either except through the public sector. If we want adequate and safe roads, we need to pay for them. The gas tax hasn't even been adjusted for inflation for decades....something has to give. I'd rather pay more in taxes than in much more expensive suspension repairs ($600 after hitting a pothole). These types of repairs add-up and people don't even realize that this is the "private" way we absorb a lack of public spending in infrastructure. btw -- I moved here from Texas (and have now been here for 13 years) and Bay Staters who think they need to flee Patrick and his taxes really have no idea how good we have it here.

But that sales tax is coming back down now, right?   No?   We'll take down that Mass Pike tolls as promised in the 50's?  Or at least stop using that money illegally for other than Mass Pike maintenance?    Have we stopped putting money in the accounts of the 19,000 EBT recipients that we don't have valid addresses for  ( picturing Aunt Zeituni, cocktail in hand on a distant beach ).

Our Governor is dillulsional.  Another tax to drive your car, and being taxed 2.4 cents each mile?  What is this man smoking???  We are already taxed to the limit.  The MBTA is grossly mismanaged, if we as business people mismanaged our business as they do we would be no longer in business.  No one to bail us out...except ourselves.  Perhaps our Governor should sell his multi-million dollar mansion out there in the Berkshires and donate that money to the MBTA.   An increase in the gas tax?  Nuts...we are stretched to the limit.  What is really scary is, he is serious.  I cannot believe anybody with any sense is proposing to tax 2.4 cents per mile....but then again, this is Massachusetts...no wonder people are leaving in droves.  Where are our representatives regarding this new proposed tax hike to pay for the MBTA?  Oh, forgot again, this is Massachusetts.  So far we have paid to bail out banks, car manufacturers and now this...this is ridiculous...and of course we the taxpayers in this tax burdened state have no say in this, just tax us more...time for us taxpayers to revolt, enough is enough....hear that legislatures and Mr. Governor?  

I would be happy to see an increase in the income tax, and would pay more taxes instead of having to fill out our burdensome forms.  I have paid taxes in four other states, and ours is the hardest job in the country.  My suggestion: let people have deductions for charity, mortgage on MA houses, and MA sales, property, and excise taxes, then raise rates by as much as is needed to bring in revenue.  That way, homeowners and people who spend much of their income on taxable purchases will gte a break, and people with lots of disposable income will pay to keep our state in shape.  And by the way, with all the crumbling roads and bridges around us, I'll also pay more gas taxes if I can feel safer when I drive.

Only in Massachusetts will you get so many blind followers saying we need higher taxes. Now is not the time people. The economy is still a disaster. This will set us all back.

We do not need any tax increase -  there is more than enough if it wasn't squandered thru mismanagement.  More taxes collected only means even more squandered taxes.  Enough is enough.  Let Patrick pay for zillion dollar losses out of his own pocket like the DPH police lab fraud that released thousands of criminals.  or the meningitis fiasco that killed 60 innocent people.  If the legislature goes along we make note of those who voted yes at re-election time.  Let's bring taxes back to 5 percent.

Live2serve is wrong. Mass public employees do pat a federal income tax, though do not pay a state tax as that money was already taxed. On the fed side, public employees are taxed on 97-98% of their gross pension.

Just great. The MBTA is one of if not the most mismanaged, bureaucratic, bloated, patronage laced, over compensated state controlled organizations in existence. So to solve the problem our Obama like governor feels we should raise income taxes on hard working folks (who have to balance their respective budgets each year) and transfer it to "transportation" so it can be further squandered. How about cutting expenses? No one seems to have the political courage to take on the real issue which is SPENDING! With respect "education", this give back is simply a pay back to the teachers' union for their continued unflinching support for the Democratic Party (can you say Elizabeth Warren). Again, how about "pay for performance" in the schools or a hard look at the very generous and costly pension and health benefits that teachers receive for life working 2/3 of the year. We will not solve our "transportation and/or "education" problems by throwing more money at them. How about a "balanced approach" (ie revenue and spending)!

There are two sides to the debate in play here.  Let's try to be good, rational citizens and separate them.  One is the "use" of the funds, in this case infrastucture.  We can all have a healthy debate on that measure, but I think most folks are in agreement that we need a refresh.  Then we next need to discuss the "source" of the funds.  The first decision node is 1) cut spending elsewhere vs. 2) increase taxes.  Personally, I am extremely confident that there is $1bn/year of wasteful spending we can find that will have almost no economic impact.  Our annual budget is now over $30bn/year.  3% savings on that base should be a slam dunk that any professional manager worth his or her salt could find blindfolded.  Alas, I see no leadership or willpower to go that direction, so we are left with tax increases.  On that score, WHY an income tax?  It is laughable to call that "broad-based" when only ~60% of us work.  This tax discourages the marginal hour of work at exactly the wrong time.  We need people wanting to go work and work hard to get the economy going.  Left out of this "broad-based" measure are all the boomers sitting around working down their savings and contributing nothing to tax revenue.  A broad-based measure would include everyone, either via a poll tax or a consumption tax.  If the only solution in Mass is higher taxes, let's use this time to be honest with ourselves and creative and raise the revenue in a way that does not distort our fragile labor market, further weakening an already tepid recovery.

This is a fool's game.  The state has used legitimate transportation needs to raise taxes, doesn't maintain the roads and bridges, doesn't deal with management issues at the T, comes back for more taxes. Forget the 5.6% rate, the voters said to roll it back to 5%. Taxpayer who don't want to be fools should call their legislators (use Secretary of State's database) and tell them to audit the state Department of Education to find out where all our gas tax money, and the 20% of the sales tax that is earmarked for public transportation, is going now. Do the management reforms recommended in the Transportation report. Then get back to us on revenue discussion.

It's inexorable. The public sector grows as the private sector shrinks. The shrinking private sector is called upon to pay more and more taxes to support the growing public sector. The end game is socialism.

I'm all for investing in the right things, like transportation and education, but where's the effort to reign in spending? As individuals in a difficult economy we've had to take a hard look at what we spend money on and cut those expenses that we can't afford. This state needs to do the same and use those funds to invest in top priorities. The Governor and Legislature seem to have no appetite for doing this. It's tough to get behind any tax increase knowing how much money is wasted in our government. 

One Chicago political hack claims he wants to reduce the U.S. Government's federal deficit.  Now we have that first Chicago hack's best Chicago political hack buddy trying to see if he can't get the state of Massachusetts someplace to a world class deficit.  Governor Devoid Patrick is expected to unveil a variety of new taxes or tax increases as he tries to zoom the Massachusetts state government to an indebted status superior even to California.  Higher tolls and higher gas taxes - the latter not 4 or 5 cents per gallon, but well into double digits higher - and a sales tax hike and an income tax hike - not  a couple of tenths of a percentage point but a full percentage point or more.  These before Devoid reaches the end of being a lame duck and heads his beak towards sanctuary in Chicago where he can run to see if the American public appreciates his genius for governing enough to give him four rent-free years at the White House.  And we thought Michael Dukakis and his 'Massachusetts Miracle' pipedream were the edge of madness.  

Fine, cut spending $1 for $1.

Thanks, Deval.  You will help to increase my house price in southern NH.  Be sure to focus the income tax hike on MA residents with the cash and house equity to buy in the Granite State.

We are 8th as it is ...

Tax Freedom Day Arrives on April 22 in Massachusetts

Tax Freedom Day is the day when Americans finally have earned enough money to pay off their total tax bill for the year.

In 2012, Massachusetts taxpayers work until April 22 (ranked 8th nationally) to pay their total tax bill.

The Tax Freedom Days of neighboring states are:

Connecticut, May 5 (ranked 1st nationally)

New York, May 1 (ranked 2nd nationally)

Vermont, April 19 (ranked 13th nationally)

New Hampshire, April 16 (ranked 20th nationally)

Rhode Island, April 15 (ranked 21st nationally).

NOTICE how the Globe presents these Tax increases as being PERFECTLY NATURAL and you should just accept them. But before the election, the Globe KNEW that Partick would do this and said NOTHING. You people are FOOLS for believing what Deval said before the election. And, you are FOOLS for believing anything that this newspaper says.

Elizabeth Warren says "The Middle Class is getting HAMMERED!"

Other states are cutting taxes but to Democrats here the only solution is to spend more. Economy booming? Time to spend more to "invest" in education, infrastructure and roads. Economy weak? Time to spend more to "invest" in education, infrastructure and roads. Every person, family, business and organization has to live within a budget that reflects their income but the state? NEVER. Nothing can ever be cut, services can NEVER be rationalized and public employee boondoogles like the housing programs for the poor just glide along unless, somehow, their theivery is unveiled. The state needs a constitution LIMIT on spending tied to GDP. If the economy doesn't grow, then the state can't grow. No person will find the will to operate financially prudently as long as they know "daddy" or "mommy" can be tapped, relentlessly, for more funds. Is this dynamic any different for the state? Where is the incentive for government to chose priorities and operate more efficiently when it can, effortlessly, suck more money out of taxpayers?

To many politicians like Patrick want to leave office with "a legacy" to be remembered by, be it new schools, highways, and social programs. Unfortunately, we the ones who have to pay for their largess.

You are sp right Westerm Suburb about Cahill sabotaging thr election so Deval could slide by. Funny how nobody in the Liberal press and the

Globe brought that up, especially during thr whitewash Cahill trial, which seems to have died with the Dem AG.

So, who is willing to give up what in order to cut spending? I am hearing a lot of claims about fraud and waste, but it still amounts to saying 'let the other guy take a hit.'