Online Tool Lets Taxpayers to See Their Bill Under Patrick Budget Plan
The program also allows users to develop their own plan and see its effects on their tax bill.
In an effort to further promote his proposed $34.8 billlion budget, Gov. Deval Patrick this week rolled out an online tool that would help families see the effect his plan would have on their bottom line.
The tool was released less than a week after Patrick unveiled 400 online maps showing what each district would receive in transportation and education benefits under his tax plan.
"We are proposing meaningful investments in education and transportation, and people want to know what that means for them," Patrick said. "Last week, with the maps, we showed what long-postponed projects would get done in each community. Now, with this tool, we show just what the costs or savings will be for individual households."
The program not only lets users enter their income information to see how their tax bill would change, it also allows them to develop their own tax reform proposal and see how it would alter their net income.
The administration claims that about half of Massachusetts taxpayers will see a reduction in their tax burden, or come out the same, under Patrick's proposal, which is marked by an increase in the income tax from 5.25 percent to 6.25 percent and the end of 44 deductions combined with a reduction in the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 4.5 percent a a doubling of personal exemptions.
Have you tried this tool, Westford? What was your result? Tell us in the comments.
Dick
2:19 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
I can't imagine anyone stupid enough to fall for this scam.
Rob C.
9:04 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
How much of our money is being wasted on these websites so that they can try and convince us that it is OK to take more of our money from us and waste it?
Vincent DiRico
12:00 pm on Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Drivel Patrick "Budget Plan" in TROUBLE!
Group to rally in support of Mass. tax hike
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2013/03/12/group-rally-support-mass-tax-hike/8G5wjTE1U6DjqcMQcLNzRM/story.html
BOSTON (AP) — Supporters of Gov. Deval Patrick’s plan for a broad-based tax increase to pay for improvements in transportation and education plan to make their voices heard at the Statehouse.
A coalition called the Campaign for Our Communities has organized a rally and lobbying day for Tuesday even as many top lawmakers appear to be shying away from Patrick’s proposal to raise nearly $2 billion in new revenue.
The governor has called for raising the state income tax from 5.25 percent to 6.25 percent, while also eliminating some itemized deductions. He also wants to lower the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 4.5 percent.
Meanwhile, the Legislature’s Transportation Committee has called a hearing for Tuesday on the administration’s plan for maintaining and modernizing the state’s aging transportation infrastructure.
Alex Finnegan
4:09 pm on Sunday, April 7, 2013
I hate these convoluded plans. The ONLY reason for them to exist is to hide somethng. Raise state income tax but lower the sales tax. Raising the sales tax was a dumb move to begin with.
Why not just tell people what bracket will be affected and by how much. I personally know more than a few millionaires who have told me directly they have no problem paying higher taxes if they knew what the taxes were going to. Education, roads, etc., everyone of those millionaires said they would happily pay more taxes for that. But it's all this hiding, bait and switch, they feel like they have to keep the Govt in check by fighting with them about it.
And $62,000 a year to live here in MA is not a lot of money. That is middle class. It's a living with reasonable amenities but by no means is that a group that can sustain a heavier tax load. I'm fine with the joint income of $250k having a heavier tax burden on money earned above that figure as I believe that puts you in the very upper middle class. And I think a lot of them would be ok with it too if they could trust the govt to be responsible with the money. But we all know that isn't the case.
When people want to know why "rich" people don't want to pay higher taxes, it's been my experience that they would happily pay higher taxes to fund education, make college available for free to everyone, pay for roads etc. It's the Govt who has created this standoff, for convoluded crap like this.