High Court Clears Millionaires’ Tax Question for Massachusetts Ballot

Daniel Ryan was quoted in the article, "High Court Clears Millionaires’ Tax Question for Massachusetts Ballot," published in the Boston Herald [sub. req'd].

The article discusses the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's ruling, which cleared the millionaires’ tax question to appear on the November ballot over fears it will drive people from the state.

Dan noted the court has simply followed its own precedent in the case. "Under the court’s prior decisions, the attorney general is granted deference in her description of the proposed amendment and the 'yes' and 'no' statements. Here, the court was deferential to the language used by the attorney general describing the proposed amendment," he told the Herald.

However, Dan also noted that plaintiffs are not wrong in their assertions. "Should the amendment pass, there is no guarantee that state expenditures for education and transportation will increase. The education and transportation expenditures could remain the same, and the Legislature could use funds formerly allocated to those areas to fund entirely unrelated areas. This was the experience in California following the passage of a similar ballot initiative," he said.