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Massachusetts Question 6, Graduated Income Tax Initiative (1994)
| Massachusetts Question 6 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Income taxes |
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| Status |
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| Type Indirect initiated constitutional amendment |
Origin |
Massachusetts Question 6 was on the ballot as an indirect initiated constitutional amendment in Massachusetts on November 8, 1994. It was defeated.
A “yes” vote supported establishing a graduated income tax. |
A “no” vote opposed establishing a graduated income tax. |
Election results
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Massachusetts Question 6 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 630,694 | 30.42% | ||
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1,442,404 | 69.58% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Question 6 was as follows:
| “ | Do you approve of the adoption of an amendment to the constitution, summarized below, which was approved by the General Court in joint sessions of the House of Representatives and the Senate on November 16,1992, by a vote of 132 to 39, and on May 25, 1994, by a vote of 119 to 73? | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for this measure was:
| “ | This proposed constitutional amendment would require Massachusetts income tax rates to be graduated, in order to distribute the burden of the tax fairly and equitably. The proposed amendment would require the rates for taxpayers in higher income brackets to be higher than the rates for taxpayers in lower income brackets. The proposed amendment would also allow the state Legislature to grant reasonable exemptions and abatements and establish the number and range of tax brackets. The proposed amendment would eliminate from the Massachusetts Constitution the present requirement that income taxes must be levied at a uniform rate throughout the state upon incomes derived from the same class of property. | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
An indirect initiated constitutional amendment is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends a state's constitution. There are two states – Massachusetts and Mississippi – that allow citizens to initiate indirect constitutional amendments.
While a direct initiated constitutional amendment is placed on the ballot once supporters file the required number of valid signatures, an indirect initiated constitutional amendment is first presented to the state legislature, which has various options depending on the state.
In Massachusetts, the number of signatures required for an indirect initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 3% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. Massachusetts also has a distribution requirement that requires no more than 25% of the certified signatures on any petition can come from a single county.
If the petition meets the signature requirements, 25% of the Legislature in two joint sessions must approve the amendment to send it to the ballot. The petition may be amended by a 75% vote of the Legislature. Unlike indirect initiated state statutes in Massachusetts, a second round of signatures is not required. The state Legislature also has the power to place an alternative measure alongside the proposed amendment via a simple majority vote.
A simple majority vote is required for voter approval. However, the number of affirmative votes cast for the measure must be greater than 30% of the votes cast in the election.
See also
External links
Footnotes
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State of Massachusetts Boston (capital) |
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