Monday, October 22, 2012
State Rep. candidates George Georgountzos and Jason Lewis answer questions previously submitted by Patch readers.
You asked and incumbent State Rep. Jason Lewis and challenger George Georgountzos have answered your questions. This is the third round of answers provided by the State Rep. candidates to your questions. Lewis, a Democrat from Winchester, is facing Stoneham resident and Republican challenger Georgountzos for the State Rep. position, which represents the communities of Stoneham and Winchester. Here are the candidates' responses to readers' questions: What are your plans for solving Chapter 70 issue that has plagued Stoneham? Lewis: "I have been pursuing a (three)-pronged strategy to address the issue of adequate and equitable Chapter 70 education funding for Stoneham and other similarly situated communities. 1. File legislation, budget …
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Mother Jones released a video of Mitt Romney telling a private audience that 47 percent of Americans are dependent on the government and will never vote for him. Was this a ruinous gaffe, or has Romney told a hard political truth?
A secret video obtained by Mother Jones magazine has rocked the political world. In that video, Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney said 47 percent of Americans believe they are victims, are dependent on the government and will never vote for him. He went further, saying he wasn't worried about them. The magazine released a portion of the video Monday. In a late night press conference Monday, Romney said the comments were not "elegantly stated," but were part of a larger conversation about the role of personal responsibility. Romney went on to say the comments were a reflection on "the political process of winning an election, and, of course, I want to help all Americans—all Americans—have a bright and prosperous future." Mother …
Friday, August 10, 2012
Hey big spender. Do you have plans for throwing down wads of cash this weekend? Or are you giving your wallet a break?
Break out the credit card: On Tuesday, Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill that designates Aug. 11 and 12 as a sales tax holiday, meaning you won't have to pay the state's 6.25 percent sales tax. Of course, there are some conditions. The tax holiday doesn't include meals, tobacco or single items that cost $2,500 or more. (So much for my big plan to buy a Bugatti Veyron made of charcuterie and Camel Lights.) The tax holiday is intended to send hordes of shoppers to stores, where they'll purchase lots of things and help boost revenues for local businesses. Some consumers wait for the tax holiday to buy big-ticket items they've been planning to get anyway. If you buy something that costs $2,500, you'll save $156.25. So, are you planning to take …
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
The bill increases public aid while not raising taxes.
The House and Senate overwhelming passed a $32.5 billion budget last week and Gov. Deval Patrick has until July 8 to review and sign it or to issue vetoes. The thrust of the bill is to shore up aid to public programs while at the same time not increasing the burden to taxpayers. Overall, the 2013 budget is about 3 percent higher than this year's, but considerably tighter than previous recent years. Here are some of the bill's highlights: 1. It includes no new taxes or fees. Instead, $516 million will be taken from existing funds, including $350 million from the state's rainy day fund, leaving it over a billion dollars in the black. Still, that's down from the $2.2 billion it had in 2008. 2. It tightens welfare. The bill would limit the …
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Winchester has the smallest commercial tax base in the region, in terms of percentage of total property value.
Massachusetts lawmakers face a looming deadline to pass a state budget, with the fiscal year ending this Saturday, and while city and local officials watch to see the final local aid numbers for fiscal 2013, it's property taxes that fund the biggest chunk of most municipal budgets. According to data from the state Division of Local Services, commercial, industrial and personal property makes up 5.4 percent of Winchester's overall property tax base. Winchester had the smallest commercial tax base out of the Boston area communities in our chart (see below). Other communities in single-digits are Melrose (5.9 percent), Arlington (6 percent), Winthrop (7 percent), Lynnfield (8.1 percent) and Reading at 9.9 percent. Winchester area towns …
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
The Selectmen decided to maintain the current tax classification.
It has been 17 years since the town of Winchester has last changed the tax classification. That streak continues as the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to continue with the current tax levy classification. "The board is against classifying," said Stephen Powers, chair of the Board of Assessors. "We're 94 percent residential and if we change it we would hurt business if we do it. Public get a very small benefit, about three centers off their bill. But that burden would be placed on the businesses and if those businesses close down because of it that would hurt the town a lot more." The idea of changing the tax rates would be to put a greater burden of the taxes on the commercial properties and take some off of the residential homes. …
Friday, April 15, 2011
Obscure DC holiday, Patriot's Day gives Winchester taxpayers a few extra days to prepare taxes.
Winchester tax procrastinators, rejoice. While you were preparing for a hurried next 12 hours of locating W-2 forms and going through shoeboxes filled with last year's receipts and then a rush to the post office tomorrow night to make the April 15 federal and state income tax deadline, relax. You actually will have until Monday, April 18 to post or send in via the internet your federal taxes and April 19 for your state form. No, this is not a late April Fool's prank. In fact, you can thank an obscure holiday celebrated in Washington D.C. for these extra days of grace from filing our taxes. According to both IRS and Massachusetts Department of Revenue websites, this year Emancipation Day, a holiday recognized in the District, will fall on …
Laura Savage-Carr
7:38 pm on Wednesday, September 26, 2012
I'd rather have a leader that knows how to create wealth, instead of one that wants to spread the wealth of others around. more ›