In The News

"This train is moving, and I agree we can't wait for the perfect set of data," added Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. At the same time, though, Widmer said doctors should not be unfairly hurt by the process. "I'm not comfortable with data that will unfairly tarnish anyone's reputation."

"'With declining federal revenues and the cost of the Central Artery the state must find additional revenue sources to maintain and expand its highways and mass transit,' said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation and a member of the commission who supports a gas tax increase."

But most taxes, while not indexed to inflation, are adjusted according to the CPI, said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

The draft policy brief, obtained by the News Service, contends the "more plausible explanation" for the enrollment growth that has put severe pressure on state finances is that Massachusetts underestimated the number of people from a variety of backgrounds who would become eligible under the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion and the success of enrollment outreach programs. The Taxpayers Foundation also asserts that the assessment would land on employers who are doing nothing to contribute to MassHealth enrollment growth, and could expose the state to a lawsuit for running afoul of federal law that limits a state's ability to regulate private employer-sponsored health plans.

This kind of software service tax is unprecedented. According to New England Cable News, Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation (an independent, bi-partisan research organization) said, "This is the most far-reaching software services tax in the nation."

The proposed rules leave open other classifications of services from custom Web design to online health-care diagnostics that could push them under the tax umbrella as well, said Andrew Bagley, research director of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, which is pushing for a legislative description of software as a service. "We'd prefer that the definition of cloud software not be left to the Department of Revenue," said Mr. Bagley.

Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said he would like to see an increase in the gas tax included in any revenue package. "It goes directly into transportation, but most importantly, we haven't raised the gas tax since 1991, so we're paying 21 cents, but we're only getting 12 cents worth of value," Widmer said. "That's not any way to maintain our transportation system. So I think it's fair to ask people in the state to at least keep pace with inflation."