NEWBURYPORT — The city is one of the latest municipalities to endorse the Fair Share Amendment, a statewide ballot question that would increase taxes on incomes above $1 million to pay for schools, roads and other infrastructure needs.
Here is the wording of the amendment, as noted on the Massachusetts’ Budget and Policy Center website, massbudget.org. This group supports the amendment’s passage on the Nov. 8 state election ballot.
The Fair Share Amendment on the November ballot, if passed, would allow Massachusetts to improve its transportation and public education systems by making the very rich pay their fair share, per the website. Policy solutions that advance racial and economic equity is a goal.
The ballot question would create a 4% tax on annual income above $1 million and dedicate the funds raised to transportation and public education. Only residents who earn more than $1 million annually will be impacted; 99% of the population won’t pay more in additional taxes. According to a Fair Share For Massachusetts spokesperson, “we’ll all benefit from better schools, roads, bridges, and public transportation.”
At its May 9 meeting, the City Council voted 7-4 to endorse the amendment with Councilors Ed Cameron, Jennie Donahue, Afroz Khan, Connie Preston. Heather Shand, Bruce Vogel and Christine Wallace voting in favor. Voting against were Jim McCauley, Mark Wright, Byron Lane and Sharif Zeid.
“Many of us came to and continue to live in Newburyport because of all the assets that the state brings in terms of an educated workforce and other important public infrastructure,” Cameron said. “These proposed Fair Share Amendment revenues going towards education and transportation will definitely be part and parallel to keeping it that way.”
Supporters of the City Council resolution spoke about how the Fair Share Amendment would help Newburyport and all of Massachusetts by making the tax system fairer and providing substantial resources for education and transportation investments.
Donahue said the amendment also drew many comments from the public who spoke during Monday’s meeting.
Newburyport’s council joins more than a dozen municipal elected bodies, including city councils in Springfield, Worcester, Lynn, Fall River, New Bedford, Pittsfield, and Malden, along with more than 100 organizations and hundreds of activists across the state who are working together to win support for the Fair Share Amendment. After years of grassroots advocacy, the state Legislature voted in June 2021 to place the Fair Share Amendment on the November 2022 statewide ballot, where it is now set to be decided on by the voters, a Fair Share For Massachusetts spokesperson said.
“I am speaking to the municipal council because, as a small businessperson, I want to provide a perspective in explaining how this actually creates a real advantage for us all, benefiting owners and employees alike,” said Ted Nelson, chief executive officer and co-founder of Mechanica, a Newburyport small business. “We chose Massachusetts because it was one of the few states possessing the educational infrastructure, talented citizens, global cachet, and quality of life that is so essential to not just attracting but retaining the best and brightest who can work anywhere they want.”
Dave Rogers is a reporter with the Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.
