Horowitz said on The Codcast that the problem of high gas prices is a real one....But he said a gas tax holiday doesn’t really address the underlying problems
“It is generally considered a pretty progressive policy....But it’s also the kind of approach that attracts interest across the political aisle, it’s a family-focused policy,” Horowitz said.
Earlier this year, an analysis from Tufts University's Center for State Policy Analysis found that the proposed amendment would raise $1.3 billion and was "likely to advance racial and economic equity."
It would add an estimated $1.3 billion in annual revenue for the state, according to a report published this year by the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University.
Research conducted by cSPA suggested that in the long-term, there's “tremendous uncertainty about how the money … would actually be used,” because state lawmakers’ appropriation process could shift the revenues.
Advocates picked up on the idea [of universal vouchers] and have commissioned research by the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University that will sketch out possible paths to that goal and estimate the cost.
The “simplest approach,” cSPA Executive Director Evan Horowitz wrote, would be to give all taxpayers a one-time rebate, an option under consideration in 10 other states across the political spectrum.
Lawmakers should consider a tax cut package that “benefits the most vulnerable, improves our state’s competitiveness, and avoids unintended long-term consequences,” Evan Horowitz wrote
“Since we haven’t fixed anything, there’s no reason to think we’re going to have a different outcome...we’ll be underfunding moving forward because we weren’t able to agree on changes,” said Evan Horowitz.