New tax burden data has arrived just in time for
April 15th tax filing deadline, as the House budget is released without
Governor Romneys income tax rollback, and as the so-called
Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation releases yet another timely report on
its bte noire, the ongoing "structural
deficit."
Just to put it all into perspective:
According to the Washington-based Tax Foundation, which reports
estimated tax burdens for each tax year:
The Massachusetts per capita state and
local tax burden for 2005 is 4th highest in the nation, 22.4% above the
national average.
The commonwealth collects $4,608 for
each man, woman and child in Massachusetts, compared to the national
average of $3,763 per capita.
If federal taxes are included, the
Massachusetts total per capita tax burden is $14,648, compared to the
national average of $10,834. This makes us the third highest taxed "capitas"
in the country, 35.2% above the national average.
"Tax Freedom Day" in 2005 is April 17th
on average nationally, but April 24th in Massachusetts. Bay State
taxpayers will work one week longer for the government than other
states taxpayers on average.
Source:
The Tax Foundations "Tax Freedom Day" 2005
For per capita data, open the
PDF report, pp. 11-13, tables 4 & 6.
The commonwealth, which must provide services for a certain number of
men, woman and children, takes more to accomplish this than other
states. Massachusetts is not suffering from a lack of taxpayer dollars:
it is suffering from a lack of institutional reform and an excess of
"status quo" which created and feeds the ongoing "structural deficit"
(i.e., the difference between what government wants, and what the state
can afford).
We are disappointed that the House Ways & Means Committee budget does
not include the income tax rate rollback that is in Governor Romneys
proposed budget. The "temporary" income tax hike of 1989 is sixteen
years old this year. The rollback from 5.85% to 5% that was passed by
the voters in 2000 was frozen at 5.3% in 2002, just before voters almost
repealed the income tax altogether.
Restoring the tax rate to 5% was promised, then mandated, and is long
past overdue.
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