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Massachusetts Question 3, Income Tax Rates, Fee Limits, and Change Certain Tax Laws Initiative (1990)
| Massachusetts Question 3 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Fees, licenses, and charges and Income taxes |
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| Status |
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| Type Indirect initiated state statute |
Origin |
Massachusetts Question 3 was on the ballot as an indirect initiated state statute in Massachusetts on November 6, 1990. It was defeated.
A “yes” vote supported this ballot initiative to:
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A “no” vote opposed reducing income tax rates, requiring legislative approval for new or increased fees, and reverting certain tax laws to versions that yield less revenue. |
Election results
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Massachusetts Question 3 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 935,337 | 40.09% | ||
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1,397,542 | 59.91% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Question 3 was as follows:
| “ | Do you approve of a law summarized below, on which no vote was taken by the Senate or the House of Representatives before May 2, 1990? | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for this measure was:
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This proposed law would change the state income tax rate, affect language contained in certain tax provisions, and regulate the setting of fees by state agencies and authorities. The proposed law would set the state income tax rate on Part B taxable income (in general, earned income) at 4.25% for 1991 and 4.625% for 1992, except for income from unemployment compensation, alimony, Massachusetts bank interest, rental income, pension and annuity income, and IRA/Keogh deductions, which would be taxed at 5%. The proposed law also provides that the fee imposed by any state agency or authority shall be no more than the fee that was1 in effect on or before June 30, 1988. The state Secretary of Administration would determine the amount to be charged for any service, registration, regulation, license, fee, permit or other public function, except for the rates of tuition or fees at state colleges and universities or any fees or charges relative to the administration and operation of the state courts. Any increase or decrease in a fee, or the establishment of any new fee, would require the approval of the Legislature. Any increase in a fee would not apply to persons 65 years of age or older. No state agency or authority could collect any fee which exceeds the administrative costs directly incurred by the state agency or authority to produce and process the application for any license or permit. The Secretary of Administration must report information concerning fees to the Legislature on an annual basis. The proposed law provides that for tax periods commencing on or after January 1, 1991, language in certain provisions of the Massachusetts general laws relating to taxes shall be the same as it was on August 2, 1989, or the effective date of the proposed law, whichever language yields less tax revenue. The tax provisions affected include sections relating to the surtax on business income, corporate excise taxes, S corporation taxes, taxes on security corporations, taxes on Part A income (in general, unearned income), bank taxes, excise taxes on alcoholic beverages and cigarettes, excise taxes on deeds, estate taxes, payments to the Commonwealth relating to horse and dog racing, payments to the Commonwealth relating to boxing and sparring matches, taxes on utility companies, gasoline taxes, taxes on insurance companies, excise taxes on motor vehicles, taxes on urban redevelopment corporations, sales tax, use tax, room occupancy excise tax, property taxes, and taxes on proceeds from raffles and bazaars. The proposed law also contains a provision that if any sections of the law are held to be invalid, all other sections of the law are to remain in effect. | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
An indirect initiated state statute is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends state statute. There are nine (9) states that allow citizens to initiate indirect state statutes.
While a direct initiative is placed on the ballot once supporters file the required number of valid signatures, an indirect initiative is first presented to the state legislature. Legislators have a certain number of days, depending on the state, to adopt the initiative into law. Should legislators take no action or reject the initiative, the initiative is put on the ballot for voters to decide.
In Massachusetts, the number of signatures required for an indirect initiated state statute 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.
The state Legislature has until the first Wednesday of May in the election year to pass the statute. If the legislature does not pass the proposed statute, proponents must collect a second round of signatures equal to 0.5% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. The Legislature also has the power to place an alternative measure alongside the proposed statute via a simple majority vote of the state legislature.
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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