BOSTON (WWLP)-Massachusetts currently has a six and a quarter percent sales tax, but you may be able to vote to reduce it this year on the 2018 ballot. A petition calling for a 5 percent sales tax is currently under consideration by lawmakers who may negotiate with interest groups to keep it off the ballot and in the hands of the legislature.
Supporters believe it would provide some relief for low-income families and help small businesses.
“Our low income consumers and our seniors on fixed incomes don’t usually have the means to avoid the sales tax. They may not have a smart phone. They may not have a credit card to go online,” Retailers Association of Massachusetts President John Hurst told 22News.
But a lower state sales tax could cause the state to lose one billion dollars in revenue.
Amherst State Rep. Solomon Golstein-Rose is proposing the state negotiate a tax swap, where Massachusetts lowers the sales tax and implements carbon pricing to make up the lost revenue. Under the proposal, Massachusetts would charge a fee on fossil fuels when they enter the state. Goldstein-Rose said the move would help shift the state to clean energy and bring in revenue.
“Clean energy is inherently local; that creates local jobs, and that keeps more money in state. At the same time, that’s benefiting because the money is going to lowering the state sales tax that’s benefiting retail businesses so keeping more money in state and maybe attracting people to come shop in Massachusetts,” Goldstein-Rose said.
But such a law would likely increase the price of gasoline, diesel fuel and home heating oil.
Goldstein-Rose has not yet filed the proposal as a bill. He’s trying to get lawmakers to consider it as they negotiate with interest groups.