Income tax a thing of the past?

On Nov. 4, 2008 Massachusetts voters will be asked an important question; do you want to continue paying state income tax? Summarized by the Massachusetts attorney general, the proposed law would seek to first lower the current tax to a meager 2.65% for fiscal year 2009 and eliminated for 2010.

The ballot question, first on this years docket, is being backed by the Committee for Small Government, and claims that if passed will see each of the states 3 million taxpayers an average $3600 each, per year. This represents an $11 billion blow to the states budget, which derives approximately 40% of its budget from income tax.

The Massachusetts teachers union and other state associated groups have mounted strong opposition against the ballot under the guise of the Committee for Our Communities. The opposition is going so far as to launch a telephone campaign confirming a portion of the more than 65 thousand signatures required on the petition that initiated the bill.

The calls to petitioners were made in order to ensure no fraud was present as in other ballots.

"This is a significant ballot question and of course we want to make sure there are enough authorized signatures to qualify it for the ballot," said Sarah Nathan, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Teachers Association.

While most taxpayers would certainly appreciate an extra $3600 at the end of the year, a Sept. 28 editorial in the Boston Globe urged taxpaying residents to vote no to question one claiming, "Small-government extremists who have mounted this question say the state is swimming in money. But the magnitude of this tax cut cannot be waved aside. Much of the state budget is dedicated to financial obligations like debt service and pensions."

The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation estimates that, "some $13 billion in state spending is non-discretionary, required by court order, the constitution, or federal law. The [$11] billion cut would have to come out of what is left. The state could stop spending every dime it now spends on local aid and every dime on human service programs - food banks, domestic violence and homeless shelters, care for autistic children, substance abuse and more - and still not have enough to make up for what is lost to Question 1."

The state could fire all 67 thousand state employees - every prison guard and college teacher - and still have to find another $7 billion," explained the Boston Globe editorial.

This view certainly paints a bleak picture of the future, and serves as a reminder once again that in the very near future, all Americans will have to make some difficult choices. Do residents of the Commonwealth want to continue paying some of the highest taxes in the country, while also enjoying arguably the best level for quality of life in New England? Or would the majority rather enjoy a little more money at the end of the year and hope to avoid a statewide financial crisis that could mean an end to virtually every state funded humanitarian effort?