No on Question 1

By: AARP Massachusetts | Source: AARP.org |

Question 1 on this fall’s ballot proposes to repeal the state income tax.  If successful, the repeal could eliminate $12 billion in revenue – or 40 percent – from the $28 billion Fiscal Year 2009 state budget. AARP has joined the Coalition for Our Communities to urge our members to defeat the proposal and protect state funded programs and services that help so many Bay State residents.

What’s At Risk

If the state income tax is eliminated, Massachusetts residents may face increases in local property taxes.  At the same time, the state’s fragile economy and job market may suffer and important programs and services – from day care to prescription assistance and affordable housing – may suffer significant cuts. 

As stated by The Patriot Ledger in a recent editorial (July 8, 2008), “It won’t just be the low-income families who will be hurt.  The likelihood of standing there watching your $500,000 house burn down next to understaffed firefighters who cannot safely enter the dwelling because of staffing or equipment shortages grows exponentially with the passage of this measure.”  The Ledger added, “Be prepared to spend more to fix your car regularly because the growing number of potholes will multiply like rabbits when there are no crews to patch them or skidding accidents when there is no salt and sand on icy roads.”

A repeal of the state income tax may also:

• Put education at risk with:
 
  Larger class sizes
  Fewer after-school programs
  More school closings

• Put health care at risk for:
 
  Seniors
  Working families
  People with disabilities

• Put public safety at risk with:
 
  Fewer emergency response personnel
  Longer 911 wait times
  Fewer police officers and firefighters

• Put the state’s infrastructure at risk with:
 
  Unsafe bridges
  Broken roads and more potholes
  Cuts in service to public transportation

What You Can Do

Question 1 is a binding proposal, meaning if passed by the voters it will become law effective January 1, 2009.

• Stay informed.  Log on to AARP Massachusetts online for breaking news and updates.

• On Election Day – November 4, 2008 – Vote No on Question 1.

Who Supports No on Question 1

The Coalition for Our Communities includes:

1199 SEIU
AARP Massachusetts
ACORN
AFSCME Council 93
 American Federation of Teachers MA
 American Friends Service Committee
 Boilermakers Local #29
 Boston Assoc. of School Administrators & Supervisors
 Boston DSA
 Boston Fire Fighters Local 718
 Boston Plasterers & Cement Masons #534
 Boston Public Health Commission
 Boston Teachers Union
 Bricklayers & Allied Craftsmen Local 3
 Catholic Charitable Bureau of the Archdiocese of Boston, Inc.
 Citizens for Tax Justice
 Clean Water Action
 Coalition Against Poverty
 Coalition for Social Justice
 Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU
 Community Labor United
 Community Resources for Justice
 Delta Projects, Inc.
 Early Education for All Campaign
 Ethos
 Firemen & Oilers Local 3, Chapter 615
 Greater Boston Labor Council
 IBEW Local 96
 Insulators Local 6
 Iron Workers DC of New England
 Ironworkers Local 7
 IUEC Local #4
 Jewish Community Relations Council
 Jewish Labor Committee
 Labor Guild of the Archdiocese of Boston
 Laborers' Union Local 22
 Laborers' Union Local 596
 League of Women Voters of Massachusetts
 LGBT Aging Project
 Lynn Business Education Foundation
 M.O.S.E.S.
 Marine Engineers Beneficial Association
 Mass Advocates for the Arts, Sciences & Humanities
 Mass AFL-CIO
 Mass Assoc of Councils on Aging & Senior Center Directors
 Mass Assoc. for Community Action (MassCAP)
 Mass Assoc. of C766 Approved Private Schools
 Mass Assoc. of Home Care Agencies and Area Agencies on Aging
 Mass Assoc. of School Business Officials (MASBO)
 Mass Assoc. of School Superintendents
 Mass Assoc. of Special Ed Parent Advisory Councils
 Mass Association of School Committees
 Mass Building Trades Council
 Mass Chamber of Business & Industry, Inc.
 Mass Coalition of Police
 Mass Communities Action Network
 Mass Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice
 Mass Jobs with Justice
 Mass Municipal Association
 Mass Nurses Association
 Mass Organization of Educational Collaboratives
 Mass PTA
 Mass Public Health Association
 Mass Secondary School Administrators' Assoc.
 Mass Senior Action Council
 Mass Teachers Association
 Massachusetts Library Association
 MASSPIRG
 Mental Health and Substance Abuse Corps. - MA
 NASW
 Nat'l Alliance on Mental Illness
 Neighbor to Neighbor
 New England Joint Board, UNITE HERE
 New England Regional Council, Carpenters
 Non-Profit Network
 North Shore Labor Council
 OPEIU Local 6
 Painters & Allied Trades D.C. #35
 PHENOM-Public Higher Ed Network of Mass
 Pioneer Valley AFL-CIO
 Pipefitters Local 537
 Professional Firefighters of MA
 Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts
 Providers Council
 Public Policy Institute
 Retired State, County & Municipal Employees Assoc. of MA
 SEIU Local 5000 - NAGE
 SEIU Local 509
 SEIU Local 615
 SEIU Local 888
 SEIU State Council
 South Eastern Mass. Building Trades
 Stand for Children
 Steve Grossman
 Teamsters Local 25
 The Construction Institute
 UAW Mass State CAP Council
 UFCW Local 1445
 United for a Fair Economy
 USW/Boston Taxicab Drivers Assoc.
 Vinfen

Other Resources
Coalition for Our Communities