Malden Democrats endorse Fair Share Amendment

  At its monthly meeting on October 9, the Malden Democratic City Committee voted to endorse the Fair Share Amendment, a proposal to amend the Massachusetts Constitution. This measure, if approved by the voters, would create an additional tax of four percentage points on the portion of a person’s annual income above $1 million. Revenues raised would be used for “quality public education and affordable public colleges and universities, and for the repair and maintenance of roads, bridges and public transportation.”

  The proposed amendment has received the legislative action required to send it to the November 2022 ballot for approval by Massachusetts voters. The grassroots organization Raise Up Massachusetts has led the campaign for this amendment since 2015. An earlier, similar measure was approved by the legislature, but it was prevented from getting on the 2018 ballot by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court due to a procedural issue; the current measure has followed a different procedure, which should prevent a similar challenge. According to the Raise Up Massachusetts website, “Independent polling conducted by MassINC in December 2020 found that 72 percent of MA voters support the Fair Share Amendment.”

  “I am very pleased that the Malden Democratic City Committee has endorsed the Fair Share Amendment,” said Malden-based organizer Keith Bernard. “This broad-based support is a reminder that with significant new revenue for education and transportation, the measure will have a very positive impact – not only on Massachusetts as a whole but especially on communities like Malden largely made up of working families.”

Full text of proposed amendment

  Below is the full text of the proposed Constitutional Amendment. The source is a petition to the Massachusetts Legislature by State Senator Jason Lewis on January 18, 2019:

  “Article 44 of the Massachusetts Constitution is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph at the end thereof:-

  “To provide the resources for quality public education and affordable public colleges and universities, and for the repair and maintenance of roads, bridges and public transportation, all revenues received in accordance with this paragraph shall be expended, subject to appropriation, only for these purposes. In addition to the taxes on income otherwise authorized under this Article, there shall be an additional tax of 4 percent on that portion of annual taxable income in excess of $1,000,000 (one million dollars) reported on any return related to those taxes. To ensure that this additional tax continues to apply only to the commonwealth’s highest income taxpayers, this $1,000,000 (one million dollars) income level shall be adjusted annually to reflect any increases in the cost of living by the same method used for federal income tax brackets. This paragraph shall apply to all tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2023.”