Voters passed the Fair Share amendment making a historic commitment to education and transportation by finally instituting a graduated tax structure to the top less than 1 percent in the state.
Our tax structure had not been changed since the early 1900s. No more austerity! What a boon to the commonwealth.
In Gov. Maura Healey’s first budget just five months after this vote, she wants to give a permanent tax cut to the top less than 1 percent, negating the funding source from the Fair Share amendment and the will of the people.
Her budget cancels out the benefits of the Fair Share amendment. The less than 1 percent will now pay added taxes under the new law, but Gov. Healey’s permanent tax cuts will slash the tax on stock trading and the estate tax — a blatant permanent giveaway to the ultra wealthy. We’ll have austerity again and be dependent on state surpluses again if these surpluses are even there.
While the governor is going around the state promoting many important and even critical programs, we cannot ignore this egregious action of our newly elected governor. We must educate ourselves. One source, actonmass.org is a watchdog group that informs the public about our Legislature. We can contact our representatives in the House and Senate requesting they don’t include this outrageous tax cut in the final budget. We can write Gov. Healey. We talk with our friends, families and colleagues across the commonwealth.
It took a coalition to pass the Fair Share amendment and it will take another one to make sure these tax cuts do not make it out of the Legislature. The governor is showing us where she stands, now we must tell her where we stand.
Annette Pfannebecker
South Deerfield