Mass. state government addicted to meals tax

The Boston Globe reports:

Two years after the state authorized cities and towns to impose their own meals tax, communities are increasingly turning to the small surcharge to bolster finances battered by declining revenue and surging costs.

More than 40 percent of all Massachusetts cities and towns, and most in Greater Boston, now assess the tax, which adds 75 cents to a $100 tab, and many are receiving enough money to save public programs and avoid layoffs.

For residents, it’s yet another tax, albeit one so small many hardly notice. But for budget-crunched communities, the fresh source of money could not have come at a better time.

Someone has to pay for those state troopers.