FY 2009

"June is the final exclamation point on this unbelievably bad year,'' Michael J. Widmer, president of the business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, told The Globe. "This is the worst year-to-year tax drop ... in more than 50 years. Maybe ever.'' He predicted the state will suffer four years of budget cuts.

"June is the final exclamation point on this unbelievably bad year,'' said Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a business-funded government watchdog. "This is the worst year-to-year tax drop . . . in more than 50 years. Maybe ever."

"I don't know the explanations behind this, but that's really troubling," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers. "It certainly raises a question given the size of the cuts to programs," Widmer said. "If we're cutting basic payments to cities and towns we certainly should be looking closely at the state payroll."