I think we need to have a conversation about taxes

I think we need to have a conversation about taxes, says State Rep Kay Khan last month, in public in front of hundreds of human service providers honoring her and....(gasp) the media.

Despite a budget gap approaching $2 billion and assertions from House and Senate leadership that there will be no appetite for new taxes this year, Khan urged advocate [sic] to discuss the need for new revenue with their lawmakers. She said she planned to work with House Revenue Chairman Rep. Jay Kaufman.“I know it’s not easy to talk about raising revenue because people are struggling, but it’s a conversation that has to happen,” Khan said.

And those conversations have commenced -- in various formal and informal meetings of Reps and Senators in the State House and in formal and informal gatherings of community activists as well as issue advocates in meeting halls and church basements all over the state...

And Rep Khan is right, it’s NOT easy to start talking about taxes. But once you understand why our federal, state and city governments are proposing drastic cuts to a wide range of social services -- less revenue to spend due to a decade of tax cuts --, then you understand why it is important to propose a solution that brings in more revenue rather than only imposing cuts.

Khan, who received an award from the Children’s League for her commitment to child and family policy issues, has filed legislation to raise the excise tax on alcohol and reinstate the sales tax on alcohol that was repealed by voters in November.

She also told the News Service that she has co-signed legislation to raise the state’s income tax from 5.3 percent to 5.9 percent.

“You want to get in there before kids are in such a difficult situation it’s much harder to bring them back,” Khan said. “It’ll be tough, but you have to get the advocacy community involved. They are voters and maybe they can help in some way by having the necessary discussion. Leadership will listen to their constituents.”

Now are all of these conversations going smoothly in the current anti - government political environment?  Nope.  At first, Rep Khan got some of the standard flak from some of the usual suspects.

Her home town’s Newton Tab blog accused her of “damning the voters” and attracted the usual negative commentators.  A Boston Globe blogger accused her of displaying Beacon Hill chutzpah, but attracted no commentators. (Actually accusing Kay Khan of having Beacon Hill chutzpah is a hilariously correct description of this sweet-looking lady who smiles politely at the “no new tax signals”’ from Leadership and then continues to starting conversations with her colleagues about “getting real about revenue options.”

Want to participate, or even convene a conversation about progressive revenue reform with your neighbors and your legislators? We’ve got a list of planning groups all over the state, and if you want to join or start one, email Carmen Arce-Bowen and s/he’ll get you connected. If you want to start developing your own talking points, check out the ONE Mass 2011 Revenue Campaign.

Meanwhile -- call your own Legislator and ask him/her to join you and your neighbors in a conversation about taxes.

And then do call and support Rep. Khan and a growing group of Legislators willing and able to stand up for new taxes to lessen the proposed cuts in the programs that keep our communities healthy.