Jump Start the Massachusetts Economy and Create Jobs!

Vote Yes on 3 to Roll Back the Sales Tax to 3%

94,200 Massachusetts workers lost their jobs in 2009. What did Governor Deval Patrick and the Massachusetts state legislature do?

• They raised the sales tax from 5% to 6.25%.

• They added new taxes on alcohol, meals, hotels, satellite TV, and telephone poles.

• They raised total Massachusetts state government spending by $4 billion — from $47.8 billion in 2009 to $51.8 billion in 2010.

The result? It made things worse.

More Massachusetts businesses driven out of state — or shuttered.

More employee layoffs. More underemployed workers given fewer hours and lower pay.

We must roll back taxes and cut government spending to breathe life into small businesses and create jobs.

How? Voting YES on 3 to Roll Back the Sales Tax to 3%.

Voting YES on 3 will:

• create over 27,000 NEW Private Sector Jobs

• give back an average of $688 – every year – to each taxpayer.

• force state politicians to cut government waste.

• keep shoppers in Massachusetts– instead of driving them to New Hampshire’s 0% sales tax.

• attract shoppers from Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont and New York – another boost for Massachusetts small businesses.

Massachusetts families have been forced to cut their spending by 20%, 30% or more over the last 2 years.

YES on 3 will cut total state government spending less than 5%. A first step towards state government fiscal responsibility.

Ballot Initiatives – Our Most Powerful Tool

In the 1990’s, the Massachusetts income tax rate was 5.95%. It’s now 5.3% because of a successful ballot initiative in 2000 launched by Republican Governor Cellucci.

The income tax rate interest and dividends was even higher in the 1990’s: 12% . But because of a successful ballot initiative in 1998, the rate is now 5.3%.

These two tax cut ballot initiatives have saved voters in Massachusetts $12.7 billion since they were enacted.

These two ballot initiatives gave Massachusetts taxpayers the only substantial, broad-based tax cuts in the last 30 years. The lower tax rates stand as law today – because of the ballot initiative.

Ballot initiatives are our only tool to cut taxes – and that won’t change any time soon. Because if every legislative challenger who’s made the ballot in 2010 were to win, and if every one of them was a tax-cutter, there would not be enough votes in the legislature to pass a tax cut.

The true tax-cutting candidates need YES on 3 –  to give them the tool they need to root out government waste.

Without Yes on 3, the sales tax will stay at 6.25%. The income tax will stay at 5.3%.

Without Yes on 3, true tax-cutting legislators will remain powerless to root out government waste.

We have one choice this election:

• Vote YES on 3 and roll back the state sales tax to 3%, or

• Vote No and ratify and keep our current state sales tax of 6.25%.

Yes on 3 will force politicians to cut government waste.

That’s why the Teachers Union will spend millions of dollars this fall trying to defeat Question 3.

Good news: We’re ahead in the polls!

Now we need all hands on deck to maintain and strengthen that lead.

Please visit the YES on 3 campaign now to join, get email updates, to volunteer, and to donate.

We need you to win on November 2nd.

We need you for our only shot at tax and spending cuts.

Vote YES on 3 to help save Massachusetts small businesses, roll back your taxes, and create desperately-needed jobs!!