UPDATE: Since the spring issue of CommonWealth went to press, the Massachusetts Revenue Department released a report indicating the financial impact of the state’s film tax credit could be substantial. […]
Taxes and Budget Issues
Posted inEconomy, Opinion, Politics
Beyond the box
government often uses task forces and special commissions in a somewhat dubious fashion — either as a graveyard for an initiative by burying it in endless analysis, or as a […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Point of reckoning
the massachusetts state budget has reached a point of reckoning. First and foremost, a stubborn — and insufficiently appreciated — structural imbalance approaching $1 billion threatens the state’s ability to […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
No more gambling with second-hand smoke
Monday, April 14, 2008 No more smoking in the public areas of Atlantic City casinos, thanks to a new law by the city council. The state government may have mixed […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Voters get another shot at erasing the state income tax
INTRO TEXT she’s back. The coming throw-down over the personal income tax finds libertarian dynamo Carla Howell back in the ring. Howell’s first attempt to end the income tax by […]
Posted inEconomy
Mass. in the middle
at the end of 2007, “free-market economists” Stephen Moore and Arthur Laffer—most famous for the “Laffer Curve” illustrating the idea that higher tax rates can actually bring in less revenue—touted […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Playing the numbers
as a candidate for governor, Deval Patrick sounded a cautionary note about the perennial calls to bring casino gambling to Massachusetts. While not morally opposed to slot machines or blackjack […]
Posted inEconomy
Pension pinching
massachusetts is not quite the public pension paradise that it’s often made out to be. In fiscal 2005, we ranked 15th in the total amount of paid benefits divided by […]
Posted inEconomy
Protection money
nothing is certain in life but death and taxes, and the one thing almost everyone thinks taxes should be used for is saving us from early deaths. Police and fire […]
Posted inEconomy
Tax and mend
asked why he’s taken a lead role in the bid by House Democrats this year to enact an overhaul of the little-known alternative minimum tax, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal of […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
The public payroll
though state finances are back at a point where almost everyone agrees that spending must be brought “under control,” Massachusetts already has fewer government employees, when taking into account our […]
Posted inEconomy
Money from home
UPDATE: To get FY 2010 data on the percentage of each community’s revenue that comes from property tax, download an Excel file or PDF. You can also go to the […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Seeing red
holbrook When first-term Holbrook Selectman Katherine Connolly and her husband started their car on Valentine’s Day, they knew something was wrong. They got out to discover their two front tires […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
A study in tax-study avoidance?
INTRO TEXT Of the seven business tax proposals put forward by Gov. Deval Patrick, “combined reporting” would deliver the biggest boost to state coffers, an estimated $136 million in fiscal […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Cherry pie
the low-income cities of Lawrence and Holyoke are the only two communities in the state that will receive more than $2,000 per citizen in state aid during the current fiscal […]
Posted inEconomy
Lots of targets for business tax breaks
INTRO TEXT Apparently, in legislators’ minds, when it comes to “economic target areas,” you just can’t have enough of a good thing. Adopted in the wake of the recession of […]
Posted inEconomy
COUNTERPOINT
support for working families is a worthy cause-one that, as Senate President Travaglini notes, is important to employers. His specific proposals, however, are a mixed bag. Although Associated Industries of […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Statistically Significant
Illustrations By Travis Foster hedging on pork futures Notwithstanding our fame as the site of the “Big Pig” tunnel project, the Bay State gets only scraps of pork from the […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
Racetracks bet it all on slots
INTRO TEXT bob o’malley’s voice sounds as old and tired as the racetrack he is trying to save. Or perhaps it’s the thoroughbred industry itself that has the 68-year-old chief […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Counterpoint
Michael Widmer and Cameron Huff accurately document the damaging cuts that have been inflicted on cities and towns over the past five years. When we reduce spending on education, public […]
Posted inEconomy
Federal tax reform could be a mixed bag for Massachusetts
Winter 2006 When President Bush’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform issued its report in November after 10 months of study and debate, US Sen. John Kerry wasn’t impressed. A […]
