Approximately one-third (33 percent) of Massachusetts registered voters believe Fidelity’s recent decision to move 1,000 jobs out of the Bay State was based on the commonwealth’s high business taxes, according to a Beacon Hill Institute poll.

The voters said they thought taxes were at the center of the decision, but 19 percent believe the choice was "strictly a business decision." Less than a quarter (16 percent) believe Fidelity found other states as a more attractive place to do business; 14 percent were undecided; and 12 percent thought there was some other reason for the decision.

The poll found that Republicans (42 percent) were more likely to believe taxes were the major reason than Independents (35 percent) and Democrats (27 percent).
Nearly half (45 percent) of the voters from Suffolk County, where Fidelity is headquartered, believe taxes were a factor. In the Worcester area, where the affected jobs are located, 38 percent believe taxes were a factor.

"There will always be a debate over the appropriate level of business taxation in the commonwealth," says David G. Tuerck, executive director of Beacon Hill Institute. "But a significant number of voters think the state’s business taxes get in the way of keeping jobs here even though Massachusetts is very competitive in other areas."