A National Conference of State Legislatures study said Massachusetts imposed more than $501.5 million in fee increases in 2003, more than any other state. Those included raising the cremation inspection fee to $75 from $50, increasing the application fee for a pesticide examination to $50 from $25, and raising the fee for marriage licenses to $50 from $4. Blind citizens were required to pay a new $15 renewal charge for identification cards.
The fees were part of Romney's plan to close the projected $3 billion budget gap facing Massachusetts when he entered office in 2003. Romney raised another $309 million between 2003 and 2005 by ending tax breaks for business, according to the Boston Globe. Those included banning the use of tax-free real estate trusts and cracking down on the use of shell corporations to shelter income. Romney described the measures as closing tax loopholes. Business leaders considered them tax increases.
Republican anti-tax activists now dismiss much of that criticism. Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, described Romney's gubernatorial record as almost irrelevant, saying his more recent pledges to cut spending and taxes make the choice in November an obvious one.
"Who cares? That's yesterday," he said. "This is now all about: vote for Obama, get tax increases and massive new spending. Vote for Romney all of that goes away."