Or Is It O.K. For the Commonwealth To Take Whatever It Needs Whenever It Wants?
Sales and Use Tax Rates: This proposed law would reduce the state sales and use tax rates (which were 6.25% as of September 2009) to 3% as of January 1, 2011. It would make the same reduction in the rate used to determine the amount to be deposited with the state Commissioner of Revenue by non-resident building contractors as security for the payment of sales and use tax on tangible personal property used in carrying out their contracts.
The proposed law provides that if the 3% rates would not produce enough revenues to satisfy any lawful pledge of sales and use tax revenues in connection with any bond, note, or other contractual obligation, then the rates would instead be reduced to the lowest level allowed by law.
The proposed law would not affect the collection of moneys due the Commonwealth for sales, storage, use or other consumption of tangible personal property or services occurring before January 1, 2011.
The proposed law states that if any of its parts were declared invalid, the other parts would stay in effect.
Of course, the answer to reducing the sales tax is and unequivocal YES!
I’m sure that most of you have seen the advertisements from the Teachers Union, the Nurses Union and the Alliances of Community Hospitals about how your children will be hurt, how your care will suffer or even that you access to care will suffer through decreased police, fire and ambulance service and restricted services provided by hospitals. This public safety threat is used so often that it should be labeled as trite at this point. Who says that public safety must be cut first? The Constitution of both the nation and the Commonwealth state just the opposite – the prime responsibility and reason for the existence of government is public safety and national security.
There is no prime directive requiring the funding of hospitals or schools for that matter. The public sector does a good job; a better job of providing those services. Government only makes such things more difficult to use and more expensive to run with their unwarranted intrusions into the day-to-day commerce between providers and consumers.
The fact of the matter is that should initiative 3 pass, and I hope it does; the legislature will not allow the tax levy to fall below 5%.
From the Boston Herald:
“It would be my opinion that the will of the voters be given strong consideration,” he said. “I can’t answer for the full House at this point because of the fact that it’s going to be a new budget cycle that we’re going to be in. That would change things so dramatically I wouldn’t want to answer that.”
All of the candidates for governor oppose Question 3, although Baker and Independent Tim Cahill have called for lowering the sales tax to 5 percent, its rate for decades before last year’s hike. Polito also opposes lowering the sales tax to 3 percent but has urged voters to pass Question 3 to send a message to Beacon Hill. If it were to pass, she said, she’d support raising the sales tax to 5 percent.”
A vote to keep the sales tax as is will translate on Beacon Hill that you are happy with your tax burden and will accept more taxes as spending grows. A vote to reduce the sales tax to 3% will result in the legislature writing a bill that supercedes this initiative and raises the sales tax rate to 5%; count on it.
