When given the opportunity to pay a slightly higher state income tax rate in Massachusetts, Big Government Democrats decline that chance.
When they think no one is looking, high-income earners such as Sen. Ed Markey, Rep. Jake Auchincloss, and former Rep. Joe Kennedy III have declined an opportunity to pay even a fraction of a percent extra in taxes. They’re all liberals from Massachusetts, a state that has a voluntary 5.85% state income tax rate. This rate exists for people who oppose tax cuts and want to pay a higher rate.
It’s perfect for politicians such as Markey, Kennedy, Elizabeth Warren, and those who support Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, among other massive spending programs. Auchincloss is also for the Green New Deal and the Build Back Better agenda, among other government expansion programs.
Yet, of the 1,200 to 1,700 people in a state of about 7 million who opt to pay the slightly higher tax rate, Warren is the only one of these liberal politicians who actually does so. But even Warren didn’t pay the rate from 2008 to 2016. According to tax returns she released, the senator has paid it only since 2017. The only way the others voluntarily give money to the state is if they play the lottery.
Markey, Kennedy, and Auchincloss could help provide extra funding for roads, fire departments, schools, and MassHealth. They’re all wealthy people. Given their support for higher taxes, they should pay their own “fair share.” After all, they all want to raise taxes on working people. That includes Auchincloss, who supports a carbon tax — a regressive tax.
If these politicians haven’t filed their taxes yet, they should do the right thing and pay that extra 0.85%. If not, they should stop talking about raising other people’s taxes when they’re not willing to pay more themselves.
Tom Joyce ( @TomJoyceSports ) is a political reporter for the New Boston Post in Massachusetts.
