Taxation-State and Local Commons^™

The Strange Case Of The Seven Assessors, Janet Howard, Shaun Rafferty

New England Journal of Public Policy

New Orleans was, before Katrina, the only parish (county) in Louisiana to have multiple assessors. There were seven. Each of them had his or her own district, and collectively they formed the Board of Assessors. The strange structure was the vestige of times past, with no rhyme or reason in modern times.

Report Relative To The Land Use, Permitting, And Health (“Second Floor”) Operations Of The Town Of Hanson, Massachusetts, Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center For Public Management, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Edward J. Collins Center for Public Management Publications

The Town of Hanson retained UMass Boston’s Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management to perform an assessment of ways to increase efficiency and effectiveness within the Town government. This report addresses the “second floor” departments, which include: Building Inspections (along with wiring, plumbing, etc.), Conservation, Health, Planning, and Zoning.

While the first floor departments are doing the work to keep Hanson functioning today, the second floor departments are doing the work to keep Hanson strong tomorrow, protecting the resources of the Town for the future. “Resources” should be taken in the broadest sense of the term, which would …

Report Relative To The Finance And Administration (“First Floor”) Operations Of The Town Of Hanson, Massachusetts, Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center For Public Management, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Edward J. Collins Center for Public Management Publications

As with almost all Massachusetts municipalities, the Town of Hanson has faced several fiscally challenging years and is likely to continue facing fiscal challenges for the foreseeable future. This has led to a situation of interconnected operational, budget, personnel, and morale challenges. Despite these, there is definitely a sense that the Town is, at least in some areas, starting to move in the right direction. The Town retained the Collins Center to perform an analysis of operations that includes recommendations for ways to increase efficiency and effectiveness, as well as additional recommendations that may improve Town operations or service delivery. …

Fiscal Smell Tests: A Mid-Term Reality Check Of Massachusetts Finances, Joseph S. Slavet, Joseph R. Barresi

John M. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies Publications

In his latest budget message the Governor points to achievement of a "real, but fragile fiscal balance. " On the credit side of the ledger, he cites four balanced budgets, reduced reliance on one-time revenues, no new taxes, five tax cuts, no deficit borrowing, and a triple upgrade in bond rating. On the debit side are continued spending pressures, slow tax revenue growth and burdensome levels of debt.

But is the fiscal condition of the Commonwealth stable, albeit fragile? Or would a careful reading of the numbers transmit another message?

The purpose of this report is to measure the Commonwealth's …

Tax To Grind: Unequal Personal Income Taxation Of Massachusetts Single-Parent Families And Options For Reform, Randy Albelda

New England Journal of Public Policy

While Massachusetts households headed by single parents have, on average, less income than other types of families, they are subject to the same effective income tax rate as the population as a whole. Consequently, such head-of-household families are victims of inequitable tax treatment in two ways. First, their current personal exemptions result in a higher tax burden on these families than on families of the same size and income who file joint income tax returns. Second, head-of-household families, defined as single filers, must apply a lower no-tax threshold than joint filers, even though the former are also composed of two …

After The Revolt: A Framework For Fiscal Recovery, Joseph S. Slavet, Raymond G. Torto

John M. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies Publications

Despite the injection of new taxes in the amount of $1 .2 billion in fiscal 1991, and recently announced cuts in the budget of approximately $464 million, the Commonwealth's fiscal condition - irrespective of the outcome of CLT's petition -is precarious. Although the political juices are flowing in Massachusetts, with an eye on November 6th, Massachusetts decision-makers have not faced up to the problems inherent in the long-term, structural spending patterns of the state's budget.

Our five-year budget projection indicates that if expenditure trends continue without dramatic restructuring - particularly in the "non-discretionary" accounts - the Commonwealth faces a steady …

After The Miracle: A History And Analysis Of The Massachusetts Fiscal Crisis: Being A Drama In Five Acts, With An Implied Invitation To The Reader To Participate In The Crafting Of The Final Act, Joseph S. Slavet, Raymond G. Torto, Edmund Beard, Louis C. Dinatale

John M. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies Publications

"After the Miracle" documents the factors that have shaped the recent political debate in Massachusetts and are likely to determine continuing economic and fiscal conditions in Massachusetts in the near future. The paper indicates that 1990 may begin a decade of real limits for Massachusetts. The economy has stagnated and the next two years will be a period of deep economic uncertainty. It is also clear that a resurgence, like that of the boom period of the eighties, is unlikely to be replicated.

The 1980's was a period when state-local spending in Massachusetts, propelled by the infusion of double-digit tax …

Determining Tax Contributions And Service Benefits For Greater Roxbury, Bette Woody

William Monroe Trotter Institute Publications

A study of tax contributions and services benefits received by the greater Roxbury community involves several questions. Important is determining the types of revenue to be included as a basis for assessing contributions. A second key issue is determining how to extract district services from aggregate expenditure budgets. This is necessary in order to make spending estimates consistent with geographic boundaries and revenue categories.

Developing an approximate picture of services which include qualitative measures of the service delivered is not a trivial question. Engineering analysis takes the perspective that dollar values alone are a poor measure of the level of …

Residential Tax Exemption Policies: Trends, Impacts And Future Options For Boston, Joseph S. Slavet, Raymond G. Torto

John M. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies Publications

This is an extensive report on residential tax exemption issues in the City of Boston with an evaluation of recently proposed revisions in current policies.

Managing Change: Reflections On Innovation In The Public Sector, Ira A. Jackson, Jane P. O'Hern

New England Journal of Public Policy

In January 1983, when Governor Michael S. Dukakis appointed Ira Jackson as commissioner of revenue, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was facing an estimated $300 million deficit. The state was also suffering from a severe loss of public confidence in the integrity of its tax administration. His first and most urgent priority being the restoration of that confidence, Commissioner Jackson implemented a three-part strategy to improve voluntary compliance with the tax laws: raising the stakes for evaders, treating honest taxpayers as customers rather than victims, and changing public attitudes about tax evasion. Productivity gains and innovative procedures at the Department of …

Public Policy And The Missing Link: A Progress Report On The Design And Implementation Of The Massachusetts Linked Deposit Program, Jim T. Campen

John M. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies Publications

The idea underlying the Massachusetts Linked Deposit Program (LDP), which has been operated by the Treasurer since 1978, is that a portion of the money in the state's General Fund is deposited in Massachusetts banks, with the amounts awarded to individual banks linked to their performance in serving the people and communities of Massachusetts. Bidding banks must offer a required minimum interest rate and must furnish specific information on the composition of their loan and investment portfolios. This information is used to compute a "linked deposit score" for each bank, which provides a basis for linking the awarding of public …

Urban Distress, Educational Equity, And Local Governance: State Level Policy Implication Of Proposition 2 1/2 In Massachusetts, Edward P. Morgan

John M. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies Publications

This report examines the impact of Proposition 2-1/2 on different types of communities and the implications of this impact for state aid and state-level policies. The effects of 2-1/2, especially first-year effects in public education, are evaluated from the perspective of four general policy objectives or values: equity, efficiency, accountability, and local autonomy. The primary concern of this report is for various considerations of equity and inequality.

Future Issues Facing Boston: The Assessing Department, Janet L. Hunkel

John M. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies Publications

Taxpayers' opinions of municipal government often focus on the property tax. Taxpayers are stingy, and they are critical as to whether their money is purchasing competent services. For citizens to have faith that government is democratic, taxes must be equitable — everyone must pay their fair share. For government to function efficiently, tax administration must be efficient in order to support city services.

The property tax is a complex, difficult tax to administer; it is vulnerable to misuse. However, there have been recent, dramatic changes to the tax laws. Municipal government in Massachusetts now has the political and legal wherewithall …

Boston's Fiscal Future: Prognosis And Policy Options For 1984 To 1986, Joseph S. Slavet, Raymond G. Torto

John M. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies Publications

The finances of the City of Boston have been variously affected throughout its long history by regional and national economic cycles, by legal constraints and changes in the state-local tax system and by inter-municipal resource and expenditure disparities.

In more recent years, however, a series of tremors converged to propel Boston's seemingly chronic fiscal problem to the crisis stage. As inflation climbed to unprecedented double-digit levels, an overwhelming majority of the state's populace supported specific limits on property taxes, the primary source of municipal revenue. As a result, Boston was forced to reduce property tax levies by $144 million during …

The Massachusetts Fiscal System: Structure And Performance, Padraig O'Malley, Raymond G. Torto

Center for Studies in Policy and the Public Interest Publications

On November 4, 1980 the citizens of Massachusetts, by a vote of 59% to 41%, resoundingly endorsed a tax reduction plan known as Proposition 2 1/2. All communities in the Commonwealth were faced with an immediate reduction in their local revenues due to the immediate cut in the excise tax that Proposition 2 1/2 called for, and up to 130 communities will have to implement a 15% reduction in their tax levies for FY 1982.

Already there are protestations from many local officials that they cannot make the required tax cuts without severely reducing the level of local services. The …

A Fact Book On Proposition 2 1/2, Padraig O'Malley

Center for Studies in Policy and the Public Interest Publications

In this age of inflation many tax reduction plans have been proposed throughout the nation. This November Massachusetts voters will vote on Proposition 2 1/2 - a tax reduction proposal sponsored by a coalition of citizens.

This booklet describes the costs and benefits of Proposition 2 1/2 in an objective way, so that you can make an informed decision when you cast your vote. The University of Massachusetts' Center for Studies in Policy and the Public Interest and the Massachusetts Cooperative Extension Service believe that when you have access to unbiased information you will make better decisions and participate more …