Monday, March 19, 2007

Barbara Anderson: a brief history lesson

Barbara Anderson helped pass Proposition 2 1/2 27 years ago, and she remains the leading anti-tax activist in the state through her group, Citizens for Limited Taxation.

She wrote an op-ed for the Globe at the 25 year mark. This week, we asked her to give us a quick history the season's tax increase campaigns begin.

Here's Barbara:

"In 1980, Massachusetts voters were outraged about property taxes and legislative inaction in addressing them. So using the state constitution’s initiative petition process, Citizens for Limited Taxation placed a question on the ballot that voters passed 59-41.

"The constitution requires all property to be assessed at full and fair market value. Proposition 2 ½ cut property taxes to 2.5% of that market value, and limited the increase in the property tax levy to 2.5% a year in each community. It also cut the auto excise from $66 to $25 per thousand and created a rental deduction which has since been capped.

"To help communities live with the limit, Prop 2 ½ forbade future unfunded state mandates. The legislature later excluded the education reform bill from that provision, requiring a certain amount to be spent on education. Spending per pupil in Massachusetts is 7th highest in the nation, despite charges that voters don’t care about "the children".

"If a community wants more than Prop 2 ½ allows, it can place a question on the ballot for voters to override the limit. This must be done at a local election, not town meeting. It was intended as a safety net in case of emergency, but voters have passed overrides for operating expenses, driving up fixed costs.

"While unable to mandate new local aid, Prop 2 ½ led to legislative support for more revenue sharing. Unfortunately, that money is also sometimes used to increase fixed costs with their pensions and health care liabilities.

"Prop 2 ½ is a statute that can be repealed or drastically amended by the Legislature. For 16 years taxpayers were protected by Republican governors’ promised vetoes. With property taxes still too high, we must preserve it or the special interest groups will try to make up for 27 years of lost unlimited spending time."

Posted by David Dahl, Regional Editor at 10:50 AM

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