In recent days, the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) has ramped up its call for changes to Proposition 2 ½, arguing that the voter-approved tax cap has become “too restrictive” for cities and towns.

As many of you know, Prop 2 ½ is the single most important taxpayer protection ever adopted in Massachusetts. It ensures that our property taxes, already among the highest in the nation, can only rise beyond a certain point unless there’s direct voter approval for more.

The MMA’s position deserves a closer look.

Prop 2 ½ exists to protect taxpayers, yet the MMA continues to advocate for the people running town halls rather than the people paying the bills. Calling the law “too restrictive” is incredibly shortsighted. If a household maxes out its credit card, the answer isn’t to raise the limit, it’s to rein in spending. Over the same period that local officials complain about constraints, state revenues have skyrocketed. Beacon Hill has deliberately underfunded local aid to free up money for other priorities, including nearly $1 billion a year on the state’s migrant crisis. Rather than reforming the systems creating these pressures in the first place, they just want to raise taxes.

Weakening Prop 2 ½ is the easy way out. The harder, more responsible path is addressing the policies that drive municipal budgets higher year after year. Instead of pushing for higher taxes, the MMA should be demanding the elimination of costly mandates like prevailing wage and rigid climate rules, meaningful reforms to education spending, and a serious reassessment of the policies that erode every taxpayer dollar.

As taxpayers, we must defend Prop 2 ½. There is no room to debate this issue. Prop 2 ½ is widely regarded as one the country’s leading pro-taxpayer laws in the nation. It is foolish to make any changes to it.

MassFiscal will continue to shine a light on these issues as discussions at the State House begin in earnest for the next fiscal year. Taxpayers deserve transparency and real solutions, not another attempt to chip away at one of the few protections they have left.