NEW: Gov. Patrick Rolls Out Online Tool to Show Impact of Budget on Families

Monday, March 04, 2013

GoLocalWorcester News Team

In his continuing efforts to bring his FY14 budget home to Bay State residents, Governor Deval Patrick rolled out a new online tool on Monday to show the impact of his proposals, which include an increase in the state income tax rate to 6.25 percent, on individual and family budgets.

According to the administration, roughly half of the Commonwealth's residents will pay less or the same in taxes under the Governor's budget proposal.

Last week, Patrick released a series of 400 maps outlining the education and transportation investments for each state Senate and House district that would be covered under his proposed budget.

“We are proposing meaningful investments in education and transportation, and people want to know what that means for them,” Patrick said in a statement. “Last week, with the maps, we showed what long-postponed projects would get done in each community. Now, with this tool, we show just what the costs or savings will be for individual households.”

The tool is available as a downloadable file for Microsoft Excel. By entering their annual income and tax filing status, residents will be able to use the new tool to see the impact of Patrick's proposals on their own personal taxes.

"The Governor and I know that asking people to pay more by any type of tax increase is never easy," said Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray. "However, our growth strategy will expand opportunities for this generation and generations to come. As we continue the conversation, we hope this online tool will help residents understand the impact taxes will have on them personally and for the strength of our economy and Commonwealth.”

In addition to the increased income tax rate, Patrick has proposed decreasing the sales tax rate from 6.25 percent to 4.5 percent, the proceeds of which would be dedicated to transportation and public works projects.

The Governor has also proposed doubling the personal exemptions for every taxpayer and eliminating a number of itemized deductions.

For more information on the Governor’s investment plan and to view the maps and access the online tax impact tool, visit the "Choosing Growth in Our Communities" page on the state's website.