Editorial Staff

Report: Proposed Graduated Income Tax Might Not Increase State Education and Transportation Spending

/in , , , , /by Editorial Staff
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

Legislature could devote new revenue to public education and transportation, but cut funding from existing sources by the same amount

BOSTON – While supporters of a Massachusetts constitutional amendment that would impose a 4 percent tax rate hike on annual income over $1 million claim additional revenue from the surtax will fund public education and transportation needs, the amendment in no way assures that there will be new spending on these priorities. In fact, without violating the amendment, total state education and transportation funding could stay the same or even fall, according to a new review published by Pioneer Institute.

Total state education and transportation funding is currently around $8.5 billion annually.  Under the proposed amendment, the Legislature could dedicate the nearly $2 billion in additional revenue supporters of the graduated income tax claim it would generate to education and transportation, but cut funding from other sources from $8.5 billion to $6.5 billion, leaving total state spending in those areas exactly where it had been before.

“As a practical matter, every dollar the graduated income tax generates could be siphoned off to some other purpose without violating the text of the proposed constitutional amendment,” said Kevin Martin, author of “The Graduated Income Tax Amendment – A Shell Game?”

The Massachusetts Constitution requires a flat income tax rate.  On five occasions in the last 60 years, voters were asked to amend the constitution to eliminate the ban on a graduated tax rate.  Each time they refused.

In the runup to the 2018 election cycle, proponents of a graduated income tax attempted to overcome the unpopularity of their cause by earmarking new revenue from a 4 percent rate hike on annual income over $1 million for public education and transportation spending.

The proposed constitutional amendment never made it to the voters. The Commonwealth’s Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled in Anderson v. Healey that the proposed amendment violated a ban on citizen-initiated ballot questions that combine unrelated subjects, as the amendment proposed both a new graduated income tax and a directive that any additional revenues would go to two disparate spending areas.

The court’s assertion of a constitutional ban on combining unrelated subjects does not apply to constitutional amendments proposed by the Legislature. In 2019, Beacon Hill tax hike supporters responded to the court’s decision by voting to approve the graduated income tax in a constitutional convention vote. If passed at a second constitutional convention, the measure will be placed as a question on the 2022 statewide ballot.

Attorney General Maura Healey’s own brief in the 2018 case reads: “the Legislature could choose to reduce spending in specified budget categories from other sources and replace it with new surtax revenue.”

When the late SJC Chief Justice Ralph Gants asked the Attorney General’s counsel during oral argument whether she agreed that, if the graduated income tax passed, it “may or may not result in any increase in education or transportation spending,” counsel responded that the Chief Justice’s understanding was correct.

More recently, during legislative debates on the proposed ballot measure, an amendment was offered that would have required the new tax revenues to be spent incrementally on education and transportation, over and above what already is spent. That amendment was defeated.

“Massachusetts’ flat income tax rate of 5 percent has served the state well. The Bay State has outcompeted our regional rivals and drawn in jobs and investment from higher-tax jurisdictions like New York, Connecticut, and California,” said Pioneer Executive Director Jim Stergios. “The debate on the graduated tax is simply this: does the Legislature care more about attracting jobs and investment to the private sector, which represents 97 percent of Massachusetts workers, or will they bow to the wishes of powerful public sector unions who represent 3 percent of Massachusetts workers? The question is especially important now given how hard-hit private sector employment was by the pandemic.”

About the Author

Kevin Martin is a partner and co-chair of the Appellate Litigation Group at Goodwin Procter LLP in Boston, where he has practiced since 2001.  He was counsel for the plaintiffs in Anderson v. Healey, the 2018 decision in which the Supreme Judicial Court excluded the graduated income tax from that year’s ballot.  Prior to joining Goodwin, Kevin clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia (2000-2001), and Judge Laurence Silberman on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (1999-2000).  From 2010-2011, he served as deputy independent counsel representing the SJC in an investigation into corruption in the Massachusetts Probation Department.  He currently is vice chair of the board of directors of the New England Legal Foundation.  Kevin graduated from Columbia Law School in 1999 and Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in 1996.

About Pioneer

Pioneer’s mission is to develop and communicate dynamic ideas that advance prosperity and a vibrant civic life in Massachusetts and beyond.

Pioneer’s vision of success is a state and nation where our people can prosper and our society thrive because we enjoy world-class options in education, healthcare, transportation and economic opportunity, and where our government is limited, accountable and transparent.

Pioneer values an America where our citizenry is well-educated and willing to test our beliefs based on facts and the free exchange of ideas, and committed to liberty, personal responsibility, and free enterprise.

Get Updates on Our Economic Opportunity Research

Related Content

Liya Palagashvili on the Security Threat from Losing Skilled Immigrants

This week on JobMakers, host Denzil Mohammed talks with Dr. Liya Palagashvili, immigrant from the former Soviet Union, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and affiliated research fellow at NYU Law. Dr. Palagashvili shares findings from research she co-authored on the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, which fills the gap for international students between studying in the U.S. and being employed here through a work visa.

Josh Smith on Immigrants’ Role in Economic Recovery

This week on JobMakers, host Denzil Mohammed talks with Josh Smith, research manager at The Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University, about his work to demonstrate the outsized impact immigrants have on the economy and our culture. Josh describes some of the the negative narratives and the "othering" of immigrants, even though they’re part of our communities. Despite repeated fears that each new migrant group would never assimilate, America remains a “nation of immigrants,” and this is its not-so-secret sauce - as you’ll learn in this week’s JobMakers.

Khamzat Asabaev Wants to Put a Smile on Your Face

This week on JobMakers, host Denzil Mohammed talks with Khamzat Asabaev, refugee from Chechnya and cofounder of SoftSmile, a software tool that helps dentists provide affordable, quality orthodontic treatment. Khamzat pursued entrepreneurship to make basic services accessible to all, after experiencing a lack of access to basic care as a refugee and a minority. Refugees like Khamzat face terrible circumstances, but through resilience and fortitude, often make significant contributions to their adopted homeland, with higher rates of employment and entrepreneurship. That means they give back far more than we gave them, as you’ll discover in this week’s JobMakers.

Other People’s Money: Fair Share’s Populist Promises and Problems

This week on Hubwonk, host Joe Selvaggi talks with Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby about November’s Massachusetts Ballot Question 1, the so-called Fair Share Amendment. They examine both the merits and timing of a graduated state income tax, as well as the effects on society of creating separate categories of taxpayers, and the dangers of setting the many against the few.

Pioneer Institute Expects That Massachusetts Taxpayers Will Be Refunded $3.2B Due To State Revenue Cap

Pioneer Institute projects that the state will refund approximately $3.2 billion to taxpayers due to a state law sponsored by Citizens for Limited Taxation and voted on by taxpayers in 1986 that caps the amount of revenue the state can collect in any given year.

April Ryan Paints Her Way to Success

This week on JobMakers, host Denzil Mohammed talks with April Ryan, immigrant from Russia, founder and CEO of Red Iguana nail art products, and influencer to hundreds of thousands. April came to the U.S. from a poor town, speaking no English, but through tenacity and inventiveness, she achieved success by creating video tutorials of nail art, and developing a breakthrough product that became a bestseller in 19 countries.

What’s going on with the economy in Cambridge?

0 Comments
/
Dubbed the city of squares, Cambridge, a leading innovation center,…

Aki Balogh on How U.S. Diversity Drives Business

This week on JobMakers, host Denzil Mohammed talks with Aki Balogh, immigrant from Hungary and cofounder of MarketMuse, which created an artificial intelligence powered content intelligence and strategy platform; and cofounder of dlc.link, which aims to decentralize Bitcoin. Moving to the U.S. after fleeing post-communist Hungary, Aki and his family did whatever they could do to survive, and that included delivering newspapers and phone books, and even starting a computer repair business at 15, as a young teen.  Today, Aki is a pioneer in content intelligence technology and has created more than 90 jobs in the past eight years.

Chet Manikantan: Innovation Machine

This week on JobMakers, host Denzil Mohammed talks with Chet Manikantan, immigrant from India and founder of Aegis Studios, which builds crypto games. Chet was founder of a string of companies and a partner at two venture firms, but he was almost denied the opportunity to innovate and create jobs in the U.S. by our outdated immigration system, if not for a chance encounter that led to a workaround for select foreign-born entrepreneurs. And he’s keenly aware and grateful that this country gave him what he needed to succeed, as you’ll learn in this week’s JobMakers podcast. 

Pedro Zamora on Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Kansas City

This week on JobMakers, host Denzil Mohammed talks with Pedro Zamora, executive director of the Hispanic Economic Development Corporation of Greater Kansas City. Pedro and his organization work on initiatives that are crucial to the economic vitality of the area, and they’ve helped more than 4,700 businesses. Immigrants there are having an outsized economic and cultural impact, and so Kansas City is yet another example of how localities can bounce back and benefit from immigrants and refugees, as you’ll learn in this week’s JobMakers podcast.

Survey of Business Sentiment: MA Income Tax Hike Would Lead to Employer Exodus

Nearly three quarters (73 percent) of Massachusetts business leaders think business associates will leave the state if a constitutional amendment appearing on the November ballot to hike taxes is successful, according to a survey conducted by Pioneer Institute.

Looming Budget Crisis Reveals MBTA’s Dependency on Federal Funds

0 Comments
/
The MBTA is about to lose federal funding at a critical moment when ridership has not yet recovered. Will the state make up the difference?