It could happen. On Tuesday, Massachusetts voters will give the thumbs-up or thumbs-down to what’s known as Question 1 on the ballot. If approved, Question 1 would first reduce, and then completely eliminate the state’s personal income tax. Read the ballot question here.
The average taxpayer will save $3,600 a year if this passes, according to George Will, writing in the Washington Post:
The most radical measure at issue Tuesday is on the Massachusetts ballot. Question 1 would abolish the state income tax, which raises $12.5 billion a year — more than 40 percent of the state’s budget. In 2002, a similar measure, although not much debated or even noticed, won 45 percent of the vote. Abolishing the tax would save the average taxpayer $3,600 a year, a sum that looms larger as taxpayers’ investment portfolios become smaller.
I’ll be following the Question 1 results on election night, so be sure to check for my blog updates here in Right Angles.