See what Senators Gale Candaras, Michael Knapik and Stephen Brewer had to say.
Senators Gale D. Candaras, D-Wilbraham, Michael R. Knapik, R-Westfield and Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre.The Massachusetts Senate rejected a number of Republican-sponsored tax measures during its first day of budget deliberations Wednesday, including one that would roll the state's income tax back to 5 percent over three years, and another that would provide tax credits for businesses based on the number of new jobs they created.
Here are some highlights from what local legislators had to say about the proposals.
Gale D. Candaras, D-Wilbraham
Sen. Gale Candaras, D-Wilbraham, co-chair of the Senate's revenue committee, opposed both the income tax rollback, which Republicans argued was meant to honor a 2000 referendum calling for a 5 percent income tax, and the the tax credit proposal.
Candaras argued that Massachusetts tax breaks and deductions in the Commonwealth nearly equal state spending. During discussion of the proposed tax credit for jobs created, sponsored by Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, Candaras said:
We are presently giving a billion dollars in deductions, deferrals, credits, exclusions and exemptions to corporations here in the Commonwealth. One billion dollars. And I'm not sure that all of our colleagues feel we get our biggest bang for the buck on this one billion dollars that we are deferring, excluding, exempting, etcetera, for the corporations of the Commonwealth.
Candaras cited an estimate from the state's Department of Revenue that such a measure could cost as much as $116 million in tax revenue for the Commonwealth.
Michael R. Knapik, R-Westfield
Knapik, the ranking Republican on the Senate Ways and Means committee, saw things differently than Candaras. He argued on the Senate floor that the lost revenue would come from jobs that wouldn't exist otherwise. He said:
The amount of revenue lost — we don't have the revenue, Madame President, that's the point of this incentive. And know that we're already doing this in the medical device industry. We thought it was an important tool there. For every job added, a 50 percent rebate, up to 50 percent, on the income tax paid. We don't have these jobs.
Sen. Stephen Brewer, the Senate Ways and Means Committee chair, said the state could not afford new tax credits given the projected loss of revenue. The amendment failed by a voice vote.
The amendment to roll the state's income tax back failed by a 5-33 margin. Brewer said that an automatic income tax rollback to 5.25 percent is possible if state revenues continue to come in faster than projected, according to The Associated Press.
Other rejected tax-related measures include the establishment of a permanent sales tax holiday and a measure to bring the state sales tax back to pre-2009 levels, from 6.25 percent to 5 percent.
The Senate also voted to restore $3 million for summer jobs for at-risk youth. More coverage from the AP is available here.
Senate budget deliberations continue Thursday. You can watch a live stream here.
Materials provided by the State House News Service and the Associated Press were used in this post.