September 22, 2010
PUBLIC FINANCE > Taxes > Sales Tax

Question 3: Heading Over the Cliff

Voter approval of Question 3 would result in across-the-board cuts of approximately 30 percent in virtually all state programs, including local aid, higher education, human services, prisons, courts, environmental protection, and state parks and beaches, according to a report released today by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. The report concludes that state leaders would face a $4.5 billion shortfall in the fiscal 2012 budget - an already existing structural deficit of at least $2 billion plus $2.5 billion of reduced tax revenues by cutting the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 3 percent.