Posted by
John R. LaPlante on Friday, October 06, 2006 4:53:36 PM
Note: This is one of a series of observations from the Education Reform Summit / Annual Meeting of the State Policy Network, being held in Milwaukee.
Taxpayers in Massachusetts have turned back attempts at instituting a graduated income tax—five times. In 2000, they went further, a successful ballot measure called for reducing the rate from 5.85 percent to 5.3 percent.
When a number of people objected to the cut, saying “I could pay more,” taxpayer advocates made an offer. They created a tax return that let tax filers pay either the new (lower) rate or the new (higher) rate.
So when people were given the chance to put their money where their mouths were? In 2000, 1 million people voted against the tax cut. Since the creation of the alternative tax rate, no more than 2,000 tax returns each year have used the higher rate.