Date: 10/19/2022
Every 17 years, millions of cicadas emerge from the ground and flock across the countryside, destroying crops and creating a general nuisance. Did you know that Massachusetts has a similar cycle? Every 17 years or so, we are urged to change from the current flat 5 percent income tax rate to a graduated rate. They’ve done this four times that I can remember, and the voters have wisely rejected it every time. This year, they’re calling it the Millionaire’s Tax. But it is just the camel’s nose under the tent. It starts with just the millionaires, then in a few years it’ll be people earning over $250,000, and eventually a fully graduated income tax with multiple rates just like the federal income tax.
The state Constitution mandates a “flat” tax because they know the mischief that graduated taxes encourage. It’s so easy for our greedy legislature to raise the rates to take more and more of our earnings. And why? The state is now recognizing that it took too much income tax from us last year, and they are now having to return almost $3 billion back to taxpayers. Is this the right time to ask us to approve higher taxes?
And don’t believe the lie that the money will “all go to the children.” Read the fine print on the question. The legislature maintains full control over where all state tax monies go. They might, or might not, give it to education. They could divert it to the high-speed rail boondoggle or to subsidize purchasing Teslas. I urge everyone to vote “No” on Question 1.
R. Patrick Henry, Jr.
East Longmeadow
