Governor Deville Deval I still have one question for you, Were is the real estate tax cut you promised us when you were elected the first time ? Actually I have two questions, were is the promise, I will not raise broad based taxes when elected the second time with 49 % of the vote ? I know we can trust you (ha ha ha ) because "Together We Can" !  I got to give you credit Deville you are a smooth talker, you can look at the camera straight on and fib without blinking an eye.  The god thing you will soon be gone if you keep your word this time, the problem is as a Lamb Duck you can create havoc.

Governor- How many government jobs, perks, raises are you eliminating?

Lower the income tax to 5%, raise the sales tax to 6%. Leave all deductions alone. Cut spending by 5%.

Lower the sales tax???  and let tthe cash economy pay even less of it's fair share.

I'm little mystified by the headline here.  The income tax -- which is progressive (scaled that those who can afford to pay more will be asked to pay more) -- increases; the sales tax -- which is regressive (flat fee for rich and poor alike) decreases.  I like the sound of that.  

I agree with comments below suggesting that the tax code should lean more toward sales taxes and away from income taxes, with the only issue being how to keep a progressive tax code. I suppose this can be done in combination with a graduated income tax. I also think a graduated sales tax with higher rates on luxury items is worth considering, though I suppose hard to implement.

Dems think the answer to everything is taxes.

I can't process this...first the Feds, and now the State, define "investing" in the future as taking more of our hard earned cash to fund their pet programs. Look around, Governor. Employees of private companies , if they survived the repeated lay-offs, are working extended hours for less pay, with reduced benefits (if any). The ONLY folks I know who are getting cost of living adjustments are public employees. So how are we supposed to absorb this? And since when did "fairness" mean making folks in certain income brackets pay hugely disproportionate shares of tax increases? Underlying all of these plans is a cold-hearted analysis that the Governor's electoral base (and the President's)will see those who are fortunate enough to have a little more (such as those in the $100k to $500K range) as "fat cats", who can be hounded and singled out for higher taxes and lower deductions. After all, "they" are the "1%", right? We are morally justified to strip them of their gains, and use the money to reward those who supported us in the last election, right? Enough. End ALL deductions and exemptions. Impose a flat income tax. Everyone pays the SAME percentage. If you make twice what I make, you pay twice as much in taxes - period.

The point Citizens for Limited Taxation was making was that, in making it so clear in his speech and subsequent media appearances that his goal is to make the income tax "fairer", the governor is stating his intent to do a back-door graduated income tax. The Grad Tax isn't allowed by our state Constitution. So legislators could take this tough vote to raise taxes,then lose the revenue in the courts.

more, more, more

Those people still employed and working a regular job this week saw their paychecks dwindled even more with the increase in taxes...how much more can people be squeezed? Our Governor can look straight into the camera and with a smile on his face stick it to the people of MA....what does he care, he won't be running again for Governor, so he can stick us with whatever he wants. What a guy...I wonder if anybody on his staff reads these comments and reports back to the Governor how the taxpayers of MA feel??

we are jkust working for liberal's dreams

"President Barack Obama's Jobs Council hit a notable milestone on Thursday: one year without an official meeting. The 26-member panel is also set to expire at the end of the month, unless Obama extends its tenure."

The only good part of this plan is adjusting the gas tax for inflation so that there are funds for repairing roads and bridges and so there continues to be a tax incentive to buy higher mileage vehicles and drive less.

It's pretty easy to see that Deval plans to move to his ancestral roots... way out West in the beautiful windy city.  Wonder if the town of Richmond, MA would miss him and his demands for local road repairs being made to accomodate visitors to his woodsy manor.

The Patrick Administration's crony capitalism and corporate welfare strategy rewards failures like Evergreen Solar, Beacon Power, Konarka Technologies, A123 Systems, that have left citizens on the hook for multi-millions, fast approaching billions.   Gifting rate and taxpayer dollars to the renewables sector favored by at least seven new green laws has not resulted in the world as our customer. 

Massachusetts is the green bubble capitol of the US.  Drains on our economic, environmental, educational and infrastructure needs follow reckless investments made of public dollars by the Patrick Administration.  One green law has translated to a $4 Billion dollar ratepayer premium, the Green Communities Act.  Cape Wind also packs a $4 billion dollar premium to ratepayers--if all goes well.  Based on Cape Wind project specifications in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS); and in the Construction Operation Plan (COP), Cape Wind is "sinking", "shifting", and "corroding" as deployed offshore UK.  The evidence-

http://bjdurk.newsvine.mobi/_news/2011/07/30/7203120-offshore-cape-wind-technology-fails   We have diverted our childrens' inheritance to rent seekers.  There is no money left for projects that have actual public and environmental merit.    Tax increases are coincident to skyrocketing electricity rates by Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) and other green mandates, approximately 7 introduced by the Patrick Administration.      Follow the public funding to renewable ventures like the Wind Turbine Testing Center, $40 million looking for another $100 million having created 0.00 jobs for 1.4 years (fed gov. recovery tracker0.  EnerNOC with $10 million in ARRA (20% of the state's total ARRA).    Green policy winners include Public Oficials like CEO First Wind Paul Gaynor who is Deval Patrick's appointed green policy Advisor. 

According to US House of Representatives Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan ‘Promise of Green Jobs’ study, “The Costly Consequences of Crony Capitalism” 11/21/11:

   

First Wind Holdings, received a $117 million loan guarantee in March of 2010. First Wind withdrew its initial public offering in October of 2010, due to a lack of investor demand. [11] According to the Boston Globe, investors shied away from the company because “First Wind owes more than $500 million, loses money on a steady basis, and reports a negative cash flow.”[12]

Investigative journalist Ira Stoll on First Wind stimulus, second round:

“First Wind Holdings LLC got a $117 million loan guarantee from federal "stimulus" funds to finance the construction and start-up of a wind energy project in Kahuku, Hawaii, the federal Department of Energy announced Friday. Once complete, the project will create "six to ten" jobs, according to the Department of Energy. At $117 million, works out to a federally guaranteed loan of between $19.5 million and $11.7 million for each job created.”

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2010/03/another-117-million-for-first-wind

 

Boston-based First Wind suffers major setbacks at Kahuku Wind project in Hawaii

The third fire at First Wind’s Kahuku Wind project spewed lead and lasted for three days.The publicly-funded multimillion dollar Xtreme Battery storage facility filled with toxic smoke, and 12,000 batteries completely destroyed.Hawaii News Now reports some fear this scenario will be repeated at First Wind’s other projects in Hawaii.

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/19194074/kahuku-wind-farm-fire-spreads-concerns-over-future-projects

 

 

 

   

I can live with a modest income tax increase, but the governor's plan is is a terrible one. Why not put the burden of transportation improvements on an increased gas tax? Such a policy would lead to reduced consumption and a shift to public transportation, while exacting the cost of transportation improvements from the people who are using the system proportionally to their use. This would have to be accompanied by an increase in public transportation fares, particularly train and subway fares. Seriously, who is making transportation policy in this state? Hopefully, it's not the same people who brought us the Silver Line or the latest iteration of Logan Airport. One cannot escape the feeling that the people setting transportation policy and management are old-style Massachusetts cronies.

On day one of Deval's "spend till you drop" exit tour he had a ton of supporters, on day two, a few less and today, maybe one. It's good to see that even liberals are getting sick of reading about new taxes every day. Again, we don't need rail to Springfield or the cape from Boston. The economy is in the dumps and he wants to de-rail it even more, pun certainly intended. To all the elected official who are reading this. He may be leaving in less than two years but if you want to keep your job for a while you better check the pulse of the voters. We may not be able to vote him out but we will campaign for, contribute to and vote for anti-tax candidates.

To me, the entire point of tax or no tax revolves around the answer to this question; Have our political leaders established a track record of effective and prudent use of our tax dollars that shows they can be trusted with even more?  Anyone who pays even the smallest attention to how our state and local government operates can only conclude that a majority of the time they have not done so.  The many examples of documented bad behavior on the part of our elected officials has undermined the credibility of government.  The governor is an astute, smooth politician but a lousy executive manager who has not in my opinion made the case to that his administration has earned access to more tax revenue.    

Raising taxes in Massachusetts is like giving more dope to a junkie. Corruption is everywhere and state government could care less about saving the taxpayers any money. What they're interested in is getting re-elected so they can continue to play in the fertile sandbox of Massachusetts politics. And to do this, they need more money, and the idea of giving them more money is absurd.

Who's going to be cutting way back on spending? This is going to hurt the economy big time. And does Patrick really need a choo choo to take his pals from the Berkshires to Cape Cod?

What the  Governor has done, really, is to start a didialogue on the need for government to get more revenue. His proposals will get a good shaving from both the House and Senate as time goes on. He will not get everything he wants. That's why we have the ingenious balance of power in the legislative process. 

I have read the article and all the comments and my best judgment is in agreement with the idea that the Gov should also focus on the issues of waste and fraud in our corrupt-ridden system. You can bet your life that people are concerned about flushing their hard earned cash down the goverment's hopper. That's why there will be a tsanami (probably misspelled) of opposition to further tax increases. 

But in an ideal, corrupt-free world, would more taxes be needed? Yes. How much more? Leave that to our elected officials. What other choice do you have? And if you don't like what they do, then vote them out at the next election. Meanwhile, we have no other choice than to accept their decisions while they are in office. 

 

Governor Deval Patrick unveiled more elements of his tax plans Thursday, including proposals to gradually raise the gas tax, MBTA fares, turnpike tolls, and Registry fees, plans he says will stabilize the transportation system long into the future"  Considering that the Globe has kept Deval's real agenda hidden for years, why should we believe anything that the Globe says now about Deval and taxes?