The University of Massachusetts Amherst
Robert S. Cox Special Collections & University Archives Research Center
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Tax Equity Alliance of Massachusetts

Tax Equity Alliance of Massachusetts Intiative Collection

1988-1989
1 folder 0.1 linear feet
Call no.: MS 321

The Tax Equity Alliance for Massachusetts (TEAM) was formed in 1987 as a coalition of tax reformers made up government groups, civic and business leaders, human services advocates, unions, and others who shared the conviction that fair taxation and quality services must go hand-in-hand and who opposed extreme tax reduction for the dire impact it would have on state budgets and support for state programs.

This small collection contains a copy of “Talking Tax,” a publication of the Tax Equity Alliance for Massachusetts, along with brochures for their volunteers and for the public.

Background on Tax Equity Alliance of Massachusetts Initiative

The string of “tax revolts” that were in 1978 with Howard Jarvis and Proposition 13 in California played out in Massachusetts with the formation of Barbara Anderson’s Citizens for Limited Taxation. Claiming to represent a “revolt of people against the arrogance of government,” anti-tax advocates succeeded in capitalizing on public opposition to high taxation and corruption in public spending to pass a series of ballot initiatives aimed at tax reduction. Proposition 2-1/2 in1980 capped property tax increases at 2.5% of fair market value; Question Three in 1986 removed an income tax surcharge and capped tax receipts that had been in place for a decade, and Question 4 in 2000 rolled back the state income tax rate to an even 5%.

Countering the lobbying and organizing efforts of Citizens for Limited Taxation, the Tax Equity Alliance for Massachusetts (TEAM) was formed in 1987 as a coalition of tax reformers made up government groups, civic and business leaders, human services advocates, unions, and others who shared the conviction that fair taxation and quality services must go hand-in-hand and who opposed extreme tax reduction for the dire impact it would have on state budgets and support for state programs. The Executive Director of TEAM, James Braude, debated Anderson throughout the state during the late 1980s to provide a counterweight to her anti-tax

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Contents of Collection

This small collection contains a copy of “Talking Tax,” a publication of the Tax Equity Alliance for Massachusetts, along with brochures for their volunteers and for the public.

Residue

Administrative information

Access

The collection is open for research.

Language:

English

Provenance

Gift of Ken Fones-Wolf, 1990.

Processing Information

Processed by I. Eliot Wentworth, Aug. 2017.

Copyright and Use (More informationConnect to publication information)

Cite as: Tax Equity Alliance of Massachusetts Initiative Collection (MS 321). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.

Gift of Ken Fones-Wolf, 1990

Subjects

Taxation--Massachusetts