Gov. Deval Patrick on Wednesday proposed what he called a “growth budget,” a $34.8 billion spending plan for fiscal 2014 that that relies on $1.2 billion in new tax revenue to support investments in education and transportation.
"This is a plan to grow jobs," Patrick said. In addition to the tax increases the governor has already recommended, Patrick’s budget proposes to repeal the exemption of candy and soda from the sales tax and increase the cigarette excise tax by $1 to $3.51per pack.
Under the budget proposal to be filed with the House, Chapter 70 funding for local school districts would increase by $226 million to $4.39 billion in fiscal 2014, which starts on July 1. Unrestricted local aid would see a more moderate increase of $31 million to $930 million.
The total amount of funding in the budget dedicated to local aid would increase to $5.57 billion, accounting for 14.6 percent of the total budget. Administration and Finance Secretary Glen Shor said the budget also relies on $555 million in one-time revenue, including $400 million from the state’s “rainy day” account that would leave the reserve fund with a balance of more than $1 billion.
Shor called the use of one-time revenue “completely in accord with the long-term fiscal plan,” and the total would be significantly less than the more $800 million to $900 million being relied upon now to balance the current fiscal 2013 budget, including $550 million in stabilization funds.
Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said the tax proposal carried "some risk to the economy in the short term." "There are probably more moving pieces in this tax proposal than anything I've ever seen from a governor," Widmer said.
