“It would be a foolhardy thing to do that would essentially gut the state government of the necessary funds it needs to function effectively,” said Shaffer. Rather, he proposed that if people aren’t happy with the way the state government is spending their tax dollars, they and the government ought to look into what particular services need to be reformed and/or eliminated and work from there. This would only eliminate or reduce nonessential services, said Shaffer whereas the income tax elimination might affect even the most basic of services, such as municipal police, fire and EMT departments. “When you have a medical emergency and call 911 for an ambulance, you expect the ambulance to arrive at your doorstep pretty fast,” he said. “Who knows how long it might take to get there if the income tax were to be eliminated?”
The fact that the state government is already in dire financial straits will undoubtedly compound the drastic scenario that would unfold if the income tax were to be eliminated. The current state deficit is estimated to be anywhere from $1 billion to $2 billion. In order to combat this, Governor Deval Patrick (D-MA) has already made cuts in state services and is expected to make even more cuts in the coming weeks and months. These cuts, however, pale in comparison to the outright elimination of services that would take place if the income tax were to be eradicated.
State Senator Stan Rosenberg (D-Amherst), who represents the Amherst area, also had a negative view of the situation that might arise from the elimination of the state income tax. “Forty percent of the state’s revenue would be cut,” he said. “Given the structure of the state budget, it would be disastrous. According to the Massachusetts state constitution, the budget must be balanced each year. The elimination of the income tax would require us to balance the state budget overnight.” He noted that it would also cause 70 percent of all social service, environmental, public safety and local aid programs to be cut back or eliminated completely and that property taxes might rise.
Likewise, Peter Shea, the Amherst College treasurer, remarked that the income tax elimination would be a mistake. “The citizens of Massachusetts are used to a certain level of services from the state and these services would end. Cities and towns are in no position to raise the necessary revenues to replace the support they receive from the state, so local services would also suffer.”
Many citizens in the state of Massachusetts, however, don’t share the same views as Shaffer, Shea and Rosenberg. Forty-five percent of voters approved a similar referendum on the 2002 ballot, and though it did not pass, state and local government officials had not expected the high rate of approval. That vote took place during a period of relative economic stability. The current economic situation is anything but that. “The current state of the economy is making people worried and angry,” noted Rosenberg. “This, in turn, unfortunately might drive even more people towards voting yes on this November’s referendum than in the past.”