Letter from Rep. Matt Patrick to his Colleagues about their need to support Revenue Budget Amendments
Dear Colleagues,
I have filed two revenue amendments and request that you consider cosponsoring them. If you really want to get funding for all of these wonderful amendments you are filing, you should consider how we are going to raise the revenue to make them happen. Nobody likes taxes but it is our responsibility to file a balanced budget.
Massachusetts was ranked 24th in 2008 in terms of total taxes, state and local, as percentage of our incomes by the Taxpayers Network www.taxpayersnetwork.org . And we have managed to keep Massachusetts in the top 5 for most quality of life indicators like income, health, education and so on.
1) Amendment 329 supports our Common Health by eliminating the sales tax exemption on soda and candy to generate an estimated $51.7 million for public health programs. According to today's Boston Globe, our own military says that 27% of the young adults between 17 and 25 are obese and unfit for military duty. Soda and candy are some of the main reasons why this is so.
2) Amendment 323 ensures that everyone pays their fair share, including the wealthiest of our citizens by restoring the tax rate on investment interest and dividends to 12%, with an exemption for moderate income seniors (for the first $5,000 in interest and dividends) to generate an estimated $500 million, almost exclusively from those at the top end of the income scale.
Thank you for your consideration,
Matt Patrick
I have filed two revenue amendments and request that you consider cosponsoring them. If you really want to get funding for all of these wonderful amendments you are filing, you should consider how we are going to raise the revenue to make them happen. Nobody likes taxes but it is our responsibility to file a balanced budget.
Massachusetts was ranked 24th in 2008 in terms of total taxes, state and local, as percentage of our incomes by the Taxpayers Network www.taxpayersnetwork.org . And we have managed to keep Massachusetts in the top 5 for most quality of life indicators like income, health, education and so on.
1) Amendment 329 supports our Common Health by eliminating the sales tax exemption on soda and candy to generate an estimated $51.7 million for public health programs. According to today's Boston Globe, our own military says that 27% of the young adults between 17 and 25 are obese and unfit for military duty. Soda and candy are some of the main reasons why this is so.
2) Amendment 323 ensures that everyone pays their fair share, including the wealthiest of our citizens by restoring the tax rate on investment interest and dividends to 12%, with an exemption for moderate income seniors (for the first $5,000 in interest and dividends) to generate an estimated $500 million, almost exclusively from those at the top end of the income scale.
Thank you for your consideration,
Matt Patrick