The bill to increase the income tax exemption for retirees from $6,000 to $10,000 is a bad idea. It will reduce state revenue by $41 million. It won’t help the poorest seniors. Its benefit isn’t big enough to “attract retirees,” as some have laughably said. The maixmum benefit, $280, goes only to the most comfortably situated. It will make it harder to reduce the grocery tax, which sure enough would be a direct benefit to every senior.

So, of course this bill came out of the very bad House Revenue and Taxation Committee yesterday. Abandon hope all working poor who enter there.

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