John Deaton Slams Markey for Opposition to Tax Cut Ballot Question
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 20, 2026
Press Contact:
Vincent Errichetti
BOLTON, MA -- Massachusetts U.S. Senate candidate John Deaton spoke out after Sen. Ed Markey voiced his opposition to Question 5, which would change Massachusetts's state budget revenue formula in a way to deliver more relief to taxpayers.
In 2022, the obscure state law known as Chapter 62F was triggered for the first time in decades, and it required lawmakers to mail $250 rebate checks to most Massachusetts residents after the government completed a record fiscal year of tax revenue.
Markey has sided with House Speaker Ron Mariano, who in July openly mused about canceling or amending Chapter 62F after the election and suggested that the Legislature will dilute the outcome of the ballot question should it pass. The Legislature previously slow-walked a reduction of the sales tax to 5% over a 20-year period after it was passed at the ballot in 2000.
"Senator Markey continues to ask others to do what he won't, which is live by the extreme policies of one-party rule while he lives in Maryland," said Deaton. "Our energy bills are the highest in the nation. Our Legislature won't allow the audit we voted for. Nobody can afford to buy a home. But according to Ed Markey, the government needs all the money it can get because of the great job Beacon Hill is doing. It's a shameful defense of the status quo, which Markey knows well after 53 years on the job."
BACKGROUND:
On Sunday, Sen. Markey stated tax breaks wouldn't "balance out against the harm" that a loss of revenue for state government would cause. (WCVB, 10/18/26)
An independent study by the
Tufts Center for State Policy Analysis found that Question 5, if it passes, would get taxpayers "eight or nine refunds over the next 20 years, two to four times as many as if the formula didn't change." (Axios, 10/20/26)
###
JOHN DEATON will fight for what is right.
Stay Connected
By providing your email address and cell phone number you consent to receive periodic campaign updates from John Deaton for US Senate Inc. Texting & data rates may apply.
