BOSTON — State Rep. Jennifer Benson, seeking her second term in the House of Representatives, drew fire from her Republican opponent yesterday because she voted in favor of an August sales-tax holiday.
Kurt Hayes, the Republican candidate from Boxboro, accused Benson of trying to hoodwink voters a year after she supported increasing the sales tax from 5 percent to 6.25 percent.
“This is clearly an election year maneuver by Representative Benson attempting to fool voters into thinking she is looking out for taxpayers,” said Bob Lashua, a spokesman for Hayes’ campaign. “Her true anti-taxpayer record in the Statehouse indicates otherwise.”
Benson and Hayes are running for the seat from the 37th Middlesex district, which includes Lunenburg, Shirley, Harvard, Boxboro, and portions of Lancaster and Acton.
Benson joined 133 colleagues on Wednesday in supporting a tax holiday the weekend of Aug. 14-15, to boost local business and give consumers a break during the back-to-school shopping season.
Benson said she spoke to many small-business owners and retailers in the district, who told her that past holidays boosted their summer business.
The state created these special tax-free holidays for five straight years. But last year, lawmakers decided the state could ill afford to lose revenue. Instead, the Legislature approved a 25 percent hike in the sales tax to generate new revenue and offset cuts to government services.
Hayes, who supports the sales-tax holiday, pointed to Benson’s initial support for that tax increase, as well as her vote at Lunenburg Town Meeting last year to increase the meals tax, as evidence of double-speak.
Benson said she found nothing inconsistent in her voting record.
“I don’t see that as a contradiction in any way,” she said.
“We made a difficult choice and I voted for the sales-tax increase because I wanted it to go to local aid. When we didn’t see an increase in local aid, I voted against the overall budget,” Benson said.
She said she saw the sales-tax increase “as an opportunity to avoid property tax increases in my communities.”
Benson also argued that positive tax collections to close out fiscal 2010 prove the state can afford the sales-tax holiday this year, estimated to cost about $15 million.
The Patrick administration announced early this week that tax collections in June were $138 million higher than expected and the state could close fiscal 2010 with a $67 million surplus in anticipated tax revenue.
“We’re above benchmark in our revenue and we can afford to do this and it gives retailers a boost for the back-to-school market. It’s a win-win,” Benson said.