Letters: Uber offers flexibility; Beware of the proposed millionaires tax – Lowell Sun

Lyft offers flexibility

I am a parent first and a driver, second. I have four children with different school schedules which means I became a driver well before joining Lyft. As many know, the cost of childcare in Massachusetts is outrageous. Multiply that times four, and you can begin to see why flexibility has become increasingly important for parents. I enjoyed driving before earning money to do it and would like to continue in my role as an independent contractor.

Driving with Lyft allows me to set my own hours and work around the varied schedules of my kids. Lyft provides me with the freedom to manage the afternoons, snow days, half days, holidays, and summer vacations. I honestly dont know how parents in Massachusetts manage their time given school schedules. I certainly never got the kind of flexibility I needed as an employee while working in other industries.

Driving as an independent contractor allows me to make my schedule and earn income that reflects the work I put into it. If I wanted to, I could take the whole summer off to spend time with my children. My kids are the most important thing in the world to me and being my own boss allows me to adjust my schedule as needed.

I am asking you as a driver, and as a parent, to support the ballot question that would secure our flexibility as drivers, while giving us new benefits and protections.

John McPhee Dunstable

Beware of the proposed millionaires tax

Citizens, beware of the upcoming November ballot question reinstituting a 4% surtax on income over $1 million.

The Massachusetts constitution only allows a flat tax, now at 5%. Once this millionaire tax is passed, it will allow the Legislate to institute a graduated income tax in the future on all Massachusetts residents.

At present the Massachusetts income tax receipts exceed by millions, the estimated amounts included in the 2022 budget. The excess revenues in the fiscal year ended June 2021 also exceeded budget projections by many billions. The state does not need the extra tax revenues, and will probably result in an exodus to other lower-taxed states.

Beware of the Trojan horse.

Paul RigazioChelmsford

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Letters: Uber offers flexibility; Beware of the proposed millionaires tax - Lowell Sun