HEADLINES : Massachusetts
Speaker: No new taxes in Mass. budget
BOSTON-Massachusetts House leaders will propose a state budget for the next fiscal year that does not call for any new taxes or fees, Speaker Robert DeLeo told lawmakers on Wednesday.
The comment came during a speech outlining DeLeo's priorities for the rest of the two-year legislative session. It appeared to deal a direct blow to Gov. Deval Patrick's proposal to raise more than $130 million in new revenue by hiking the cigarette tax by 50 cents a pack and applying the state's 6.25 percent sales tax to candy and soda.
DeLeo also said he believed "broad agreement" could be reached on a plan to reduce health care costs in Massachusetts, without specifically endorsing Patrick's plan for creating a global payment system to replace the current fee-for-service approach to paying for health care.
DeLeo, a Winthrop Democrat, said business leaders have frequently told him that the state's tax code should be consistent and predictable.

