Voters Poised To Eliminate Income Tax In Liberal Massachusetts

Liberal Massachusetts, once derided as Taxachusetts by conservatives, is on the verge of doing a very non-liberal thing. A ballot proposition to eliminate the state income tax is in a dead-even race.

Eliminating the 5.3% state income tax would cut $12.5 billion from the state’s $28 billion budget. The elimination of the income tax would create a major restructuring of state services. Many public services would face cuts or have to find additional funding.

Many analysts say this is on par with the tax cuts of Proposition 13 in California 30 years ago.

Many of the proponents for the tax cut are mixing phrases of “cut waste, cut taxes” with “41% in Mass. Government.” That has led many voters to think there is 41% waste in the government that can be cut instead of cutting 41% of the revenue as the proposition suggests.

If Massachusetts passes Proposition 1, it will join nine other states with no income tax — Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Interestingly, most of these states are more conservative, red states. If liberal Massachusetts joins that list, it may be a harbinger of things to come.