DeLeo: No new taxes in House budget

BOSTON (State House News Service) - House Speaker Robert DeLeo, in a speech to House members on Wednesday, plans to rule out using any new taxes or fees to balance next year’s budget, an approach that could scuttle the cigarette tax hike and other targeted fee increases recommended by Gov. Deval Patrick.

“I hear time and time again from business leaders that predictability and consistency in the tax code are what’s most important,” DeLeo plans to say, according to his prepared remarks, promising a House Ways and Means Committee budget that “does not rely on new taxes and fees.”

Patrick’s budget proposal for fiscal 2013 includes $260 million in new revenue from a 50-cent increase in the cigarette tax, the application of the sales tax to candy and soda, an expansion of the bottle bill and other revenue-generating proposals.

DeLeo plans to tell his colleagues that any changes to revenue policy “should be approached with extreme caution and should never be done piecemeal,” suggesting changes to the tax code, if any, should be part of a broader package vetted by the Legislature.

A special commission is reviewing the state’s long list of tax breaks and exemptions but there’s no momentum on Beacon Hill behind any specific bill calling for a comprehensive tax code overhaul.

In a speech similar in tone to the State of the Commonwealth delivered last month by the governor, DeLeo also intends to congratulate his colleagues for helping pass laws that he said have helped Massachusetts emerge from the recession stronger than other states. He singles out municipal health care reform, pension reform and gaming legislation as victories that would create jobs and save money for the state and its municipalities.

“Our success stands in direct contrast with the goings-on in Washington where too often progress is obstructed by political gamesmanship. And we don’t want that to happen here,” DeLeo plans to say.

DeLeo, who touted casino legislation as a way to create blue collar jobs, intends to recommit the House to improving the business climate for start-up companies and innovative businesses like Facebook in Massachusetts, lamenting that “innovators and entrepreneurs are packing up and leaving.”

“To Mark Zuckerberg, and other leaders of new companies, we want you here,” DeLeo plans to say, expressing concern about “losing the innovation battle to other states.”

House Republicans recently have expressed frustration with the pace of House initiatives aimed at job creation.

DeLeo also plans to express confidence that consensus can be built to reform the state’s health care system to control costs while continuing to guarantee patients access to high quality of care, and to signal a willingness to work with the Patrick administration on better aligning community colleges with the workforce needs of employers.

On health care cost control, DeLeo hopes to develop a “well thought-out plan we can all be proud of.”

“Health care is extremely personal,” DeLeo plans to say. “When we are at a time of need, we want to make sure we are able to get the very best care available. That will not change under any plan offered in this House.”