Data Shows Broad Opposition to Proposed Housing Tax
The Fiscal Alliance Foundation, today released the results of a poll conducted on the proposed hike of the Massachusetts Real Estate Excise Tax.
“Given the prohibitively high cost of housing in the Commonwealth, the Foundation felt this would be a great issue to explore and gather some data on,” commented Paul Diego Craney, an advisor to the Fiscal Alliance Foundation’s Board and spokesman for the organization.
The poll was a live survey conducted by the DC area based polling firm Advantage, Inc. It surveyed the views of residents in the districts of House Speaker Robert DeLeo, Senate President Karen Spilka, Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, and House Minority Leader Brad Jones.
Overall, it found that 70.77% of those surveyed felt Governor Baker should continue to hold the line on new taxes, while 60% of respondents would have a “strongly less favorable” view of their lawmaker if they supported the 50% increase in the Real Estate Excise Tax.
“The average rent for an apartment in the city of Boston is skyrocketing. The same can be said for housing costs across the state. The hard-working residents of the Commonwealth have always been very generous with their tax dollars, but on an issue as fundamental as putting a roof over the heads of their family, they clearly have no patience for this modern day gabelle,” said Craney.
Full breakout of the poll data:
Tax Proposal Weighted Tabs - 20th Middlesex
Tax Proposal Weighted Tabs - 19th Suffolk
Tax Proposal Weighted Tabs - 1st Essex & Middlesex
Tax Proposal Weighted Tabs - 2nd Middlesex & Norfolk
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The Fiscal Alliance Foundation is a registered 501(c)3 non-partisan, non-profit and a sister organization to the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. It seeks to educate the public on benefits to be derived from greater fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability in government and engages in legal assistance on issues involving the civil rights of the public at large.