Town of Wendell, Massachusetts

Chapter 70 as an Education Flat Tax Download

Description:

This on-going study by the Wendell FinCom takes a detailed look at the Chapter 70 funding mechanism, particularly in regards to the rarely discussed "flat tax" aspects of the current implementation of the Aggregate Wealth model used in determining each town's required contribution to their education programs.

We find this to be a particularly regressive form of an Education Flat Tax, with the wealthiest towns in the Commonwealth assessed at rates vastly less than the poorest. We illuminate the significant role that the current cap on Local Effort [the town's minimum contribution] in driving the regressive character of this Flat Tax.

We model the effects of various proposals to moderate the regressive nature of the Education Flat Tax, including providing per-capita income- and property-wealth exemptions, increasing the trigger level for the cap on Local Effort, and implementing a single tax rate for both the Property and Income wealth measures.

Submitted By:

Jim Slavas (Spraylab)

Submitted On:

09 Aug 2011

File Size:

730.84 Kb

Downloads:

24

File Author:

Jim Slavas

File Date:

08 Aug 2011