More Taxes, Fewer Layoffs

Boston, Mass. — An aggressive grassroots campaign by a coalition of labor and community-based organizations recently led to a stunning 131-24 vote in the House to increase taxes by more than $1 billion.

As a result, it's now less likely that thousands of teachers and human-services workers will be laid off. The Senate is expected to pass the bill. The House vote also signals Gov. Jane Swift that the legislators will override her promised veto.

Massachusetts thus becomes an example of how state lawmakers can get the common-sense message: A budget crisis can be resolved — or at least eased — by raising taxes, not laying off hard-working, vitally needed public employees.

The bill includes a temporary freeze of the 5.3 income tax rate (it was scheduled to drop to 5.0 percent on Jan. 1); a 75 percent increase in the tobacco tax; elimination of the capital-gains loophole; repeal of the charitable deduction that took effect last year; and a 25 percent reduction in the personal exemption.

Campaigning to establish a progressive tax structure in Massachusetts, the AFSCME-led coalition mobilized thousands of members and community supporters. They packed hearing rooms and blitzed the state house with thousands of postcards and phone calls. Their message: Tax capital gains at a fair rate!

Says an elated Andrea Mullin, the Council 93 legislative representative who chaired the coalition, "This means that most of our 16,000 state workers will keep their jobs. We also have a better chance now of getting health insurance benefits restored and some of our collective bargaining agreements funded."