New Transportation Bill Joins Mileage Tax and “Watch Your Wallet” Act in Costly Pattern
BOSTON, MA — Brian Shortsleeve, Marine, business leader, proven government reformer, and Republican candidate for governor, warned that Governor Maura Healey and legislative Democrats are trying to prop up reckless state spending by squeezing working families, rural residents, and commuters who can’t afford to live near Boston by pushing mileage taxes, a tripling of the auto excise tax, and S.2344, a bill would would authorize setting up speed cameras all over the state.
“These bills all come from the same playbook. When Beacon Hill can’t control its spending, it reaches deeper into your wallet,” said Shortsleeve. “The so-called Municipal Empowerment Act lets cities and towns jack up local taxes and fees on families who are already stretched thin because Beacon Hill refuses to sufficiently fund local aid. The ‘Freedom to Move’ mileage tax scheme punishes rural residents and commuters who have no choice but to drive. And now they’re pushing yet another transportation bill that hands more power to bureaucrats while asking drivers to pay more and get less. This isn’t about climate or mobility, it’s about finding new ways to tax people to cover up years of fiscal mismanagement.”
Shortsleeve said the pattern is clear: instead of making tough choices, Healey and Beacon Hill Democrats are shifting costs onto the people least able to absorb them, including workers commuting long distances, families priced out of Boston, and communities outside the urban core.
“As governor, I’ll take a very different approach,” Shortsleeve added. “I’ll cut taxes, strip state-mandated fees out of your energy bills, reject mileage taxes outright, and audit state agencies to redirect at least $1 billion back to cities and towns without raising taxes on working families. Massachusetts doesn’t have a revenue problem. It has a spending and accountability problem.”