local taxes

Here we go--an important player in the businhess community (Mass Inc) comes out for taxes. File under We'll See

The report points out that the funding pressures on regional systems means that a city like Lowell can’t provide a robust link between its University of Massachusetts campus and the city’s commuter rail station. Instead, the Lowell Regional Transit Authority runs buses more than 30 minutes apart on weekdays and offers no evening service. There are fewer trips on Saturdays and on Sundays there is no service at all.

For remedies, the study’s authors suggest two financing strategies. One is a regional payroll tax on workers in the MBTA’s service region. A 0.7 percent levy, which is similar to what Portland, OR, assesses, could bring in between $600 million and $900 million annually, the report says. Smaller regional levies could help the MBTA close its annual operating deficit and produce millions in revenue on top of state funds for cities like Lowell, Springfield, and Worcester.

The second proposal, a vehicle miles traveled tax, is one option that transportation planners across the country have long-touted as the next major step in paying for roads, bridges, and transit. A VMT tax is borne by the people who use a transportation system. The levy would increase during rush hours, forcing some users to make more deliberate decisions about their travel needs, thereby reducing congestion.

Here's a twist on the tax discussion...raise the taxes on those least able to pay (more) and who are currently paying the highest percentage of income in taxes.  This political platform may get a candidate more corporate contributions, but as we know, corporations aren't people and they don't vote.  Think about it...who earns the money that's not being contributed/taxed at the similar percentage of income basis to pay for the programs and services that we all depend and rely upon on a daily basis?

The moral argument would have been obvious before this polarized year. Nearly 90 percent of the families that paid no income tax make less than $40,000, most much less...At a time when high-income households are paying their lowest share of federal taxes in decades, when corporations frequently avoid paying any tax, it is clear who should bear a larger burden and who should not . [Full Editorial: The New York Times]

Closing necessary firehouses and cutting local programs and services important for our communities should not happen in our state due to a lack of resources. It is time to take leadership and change the discussion about how we plan to raise revenue to pay for the structures that we all care about:

The fire house study committee has decided, after three months of meetings, interviews and review, that the town is a safer place with all three of its fire stations open. “This committee recommends that the town should strive at all times to have three stations open in the best interests of our citizens,” the report said, adding, “We are a study committee and take no position on how to advise the town on resource allocation.” [Full Article: Enterprise News]

The 2009 repeal of a state law that exempted telephone companies from paying property taxes on telephone poles and wires over public ways continues to reap financial rewards for cities and towns across the state. But while the extra revenue is helping to offset a recent round of cuts in state aid, the money isn’t enough to completely alleviate municipalities’ ongoing monetary headaches, say officials in cities and towns across the western suburbs “I suppose it’s not much, but when the town is struggling, that’s an employee or two, so that’s good,’’ said Stow's Assessor Dorothy Wilbur. [Full Article: Boston Globe]

The meals tax, a local revenue policy which has provided much relief to cities and towns in hard economic times:

As of June, 146 municipalities had adopted a local meals tax, which lawmakers approved in 2009 to give towns and cities another way to collect local revenue as state aid and property tax collections sank during the recession.

“The fact that such a substantial number has adopted it already is not only impressive, but speaks to the fact that this is a valuable tool," said Geoff Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

"Every municipality is combing its budget these days for any place to have savings or to cut services," said Betsy DeWitt, Brookline's selectmen chairwoman. "(The meals tax) has been a contributing factor for us, such that we've been able to keep our services level and intact." [Full Article: Wicked Local - The Bedford Minuteman]

East Bridgewater, Hanover, and Scituate will have more money to restore infrastructure and provide services in the next fiscal year, thanks to voters agreeing to proposed tax increases, while Hanson must slash budgets following two recent override defeats. [Full Article: Boston Globe]

A great letter with an unfortunate title ("Nobody likes taxes, but..."), this letter does a great job of defending the duty of local taxes - building and rebuilding our communities. Let's stop apologizing for taxes!

Should large nonprofit organizations be expected to pitch in Payments in Lieu of Taxes to pay for the services they use?

As a Boston resident, I'm always proud to see great events happening around the city - and across the state. But shouldn't those events - especially those that bring in tourist dollars - benefit our cities? 

In an Op-Ed in Wednesday's Globe, James Rooney, Director of Public Affairs at the Boston Foundation, and Elaine Dandurand Beattie, Vice President of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau explain how the "anachronistic relationship" between Massachusetts and its municipalities make Sail Boston more of a cost than an opportunity for the city.

Their report, "Home Field Disadvantage" found that:

due to excessive state restrictions on its ability to maintain a balanced revenue stream, the City of Boston not only did not gain revenue from hosting the 2007 playoff games, it actually lost revenue due to limited receipts and incurring costs that were not fully reimbursed. In contrast, the City of Denver, which boasts a wide range of local options with which to generate revenue, gained revenue from hosting the games. These two cities had very different experiences when it comes to benefiting from a major event held in their city.

After calculating tax receipts, reimbursements and expenses, the City of Denver gained $940,365 from hosting the 2007 postseason while the City of Boston lost $649,084. As a percentage of total state and local tax revenue, the City of Denver received 63% of total tax revenues from games it hosted, while the City of Boston received only 12%, a ratio of nearly 6 to 1. Simply put, while the Red Sox may have won the World Series in 2007 over the Colorado Rockies, its host City of Boston was at a clear home field disadvantage compared with Denver.

How do you think locally-collected funding should be handled?