FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 28 July 2009 Contacts: Jill Stein, 781-674-1377, jillstein1@gmail.com, Rick Purcell, 413-374-5118

REPEAL THE SALES TAX HIKE

The sales tax hike recently enacted by the Massachusetts Legislature is an unfair burden upon taxpayers and should be repealed, according to the Green-Rainbow Party (GRP). A proposal that passed unanimously at a recent GRP State Committee meeting noted that when all taxes and fees are considered, lower income residents of Massachusetts already pay at a rate almost twice as high as the highest income brackets. The proposal suggested that rather than enacting tax measures to make the system even more unfair, the Legislature should “adequately fund important state services by instituting revenue-enhancing tax measures that increase the fairness of our tax system.“

Rick Purcell, a Green-Rainbow member from Holyoke who ran for City Council in 2007, commented that “In this economy, the people in my community have their backs against the wall. For them, every dollar counts. Asking them to pay an even higher percentage of their income to the state is really going to hurt. I don’t understand how the legislators can justify making our tax system even more unfair.”

Jill Stein, former Green-Rainbow candidate for Governor, noted that “Over the past few years the Legislature has balanced the budget by turning to every regressive tax and fee in their toolkit. This is not only unfair, but it perpetuates a chronic budget crisis, with cut after cut to vital programs. We will never solve our revenue shortfalls by taxing people who are struggling to make ends meet. It’s time for the wealthy to support the state at the same overall rate as everyone else. Let’s start by repealing the sales tax hike and rejecting any tax hikes that increase the overall burden on low and moderate income people.”

The Green-Rainbow Party also called for “tax fairness legislation” similar to that on the books in Minnesota and Texas. These laws require a tax fairness study prior to enacting any major tax code changes. Such studies determine how changes in tax policies affect taxpayers in different income brackets. According to Stein “Having an early warning when the Legislature is about to increase tax unfairness would be a big help in stopping the slide toward even greater unfairness.“

The Green-Rainbow Party also called upon candidates for the state legislature in 2010 to take a clear position on whether they support repeal of the sales tax hike. “I expect that all GRP legislative candidates in 2010 will be firmly in favor of repealing the sales tax hike” said John Andrews, party communications director. “We can’t let this issue just fade away, because if it does, we can expect to see another series of regressive tax increases in next year’s budget. The only real solution to the state’s chronic budget crisis is for us to roll back the regressive taxes and fill any gaps with progressive measures that have been too long ignored.”

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