Tax-Cutting Advocate Barbara Anderson Dies At 73

Barbara Anderson, the activist behind the Proposition 2-1/2 movement in Massachusetts died Friday from leukemia.  She was 73.

Anderson was best-known as the leader of a movement to lower property taxes in Massachusetts.  Voters in 1980 approved Proposition 2-1/2, limiting tax increases in local communities to no more than 2 1/2% of fair market value.

According to the Boston Globe, Anderson began working for Citizens for Limited Taxation in 1977, and quickly became known as an outspoken advocate for lower taxes.

Her organization also worked  to successfully pass ballot questions in 1986 to remove a 1975 income tax surcharge and put a cap on tax receipts, and another ballot question in 2000 that rolled back the state income tax rate from 5.85 to 5%.

Chip Faulkner, who worked with Anderson for 36 years at Citizens for Limited Taxation, told the Globe that Anderson's passing was "a tremendous loss for the taxpayer."

Governor Charlie Baker said that Anderson "for decades was the most effective taxpayer advocate in the Commonwealth."