Today the Census Bureau announced that Massachusetts will lose one Congressional seat as part of the decennial reapportionment process. An updated study by Americans for Tax Reform compared states gaining and losing seats, finding that gainers had significantly lower taxes, less government spending, and were more likely to have “Right to Work” laws in place. Because reapportionment is based on population migration, this is further proof that fiscally conservative public policy spurs economic growth, creates jobs, and attracts population growth.

Massachusetts’s top personal income tax rate is 5.3 percent, while the average among reapportionment gainers is only 2.8 percent. Half of the states gaining seats do not levy a personal income tax at all. Government spends $6,794 per Massachusetts taxpayer, 70 percent higher than the average among gainers. And Massachusetts is a forced unionization state, where an employee can be required to join and contribute financially to a union as a condition of employment. All but one of the states gaining Congressional representation, by contrast, are Right to Work states.

Massachusettswill now have 9 Congressional seats, down from a peak of 16 in 1910. ATR’s study on Massachusetts follows:

 

Average Top Personal Income Tax Rate

Per Capita State and Local Tax Burden

Per Capita Government Spending

Right to Work States

Average

Reapportionment Gainers

2.8 percent

$3,519

$4,008

7 of 8

Massachusetts

 

5.3 percent

$5,377

$6,794

NO

Difference

89 percent

$1,858

$2,786