Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker doesn’t support the millionaire’s tax that will most likely appear on the November 2022 ballot in Massachusetts.
Why is that?
Governor Baker says that revenue isn’t a problem for the state right now.
“I said before that I don’t think we should be raising taxes,” Baker said during a press conference on Thursday, June 10 according to State House News Service. “We have, between state and local government, we have $10 billion already in federal funds that we need to find a way to put to work. And I really think our focus ought to be on that.”
Baker, a Republican, also told reporters that now is not the time to raise taxes as the state tries to recover economically from the coronavirus pandemic.
“So first of all, we’re coming out of a pandemic,” he said. “We have hundreds of thousands of people who are looking for work. And we actually don’t know exactly what the impact of the pandemic is going to be on how people think about where and how they work and the nature of how organizations are going to set up and manage their organizations in the future.”
Baker made the comments after the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Senate voted a combined 159-41 in favor of sending the Fair Share Amendment to the November 2022 state ballot. If voters pass it, it will raise the marginal income tax rate in Massachusetts from 5 percent to 9 percent on all income above $1 million.
Although Governor Baker tends to oppose tax increases, he has not completely avoided them. In 2018, Baker approved a 0.75 percent payroll tax to fund paid family and medical leave in the state. Baker also supports the Transportation and Climate Initiative. The proposed interstate compact would place a carbon fee on fuel providers, and critics call it a regressive tax on commuters.
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