The resurfacing of the long-dormant tax cap after 35 years was enough to kill the Legislature’s $1 billion tax relief initiative. Now some are wondering whether the cap can also […]
Taxes and Budget Issues
Posted inState Government
Could tax cap influence fight over millionaire tax?
THE RESURFACING of the long-dormant tax cap after 35 years was enough to kill the Legislature’s $1 billion tax relief initiative. Now some are wondering whether the cap can also […]
Posted inState Government
Correction on tax cap giveback story
CommonWealth published a story Thursday evening incorrectly suggesting the tax cap giveback was not going to be as big as the Baker administration forecasted last week. The story was based […]
Posted inState Government, State House News Service
Groggy lawmakers pull the plug on $1b tax package
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE HOUSE and Senate pulled an all-nighter to push through approval of a wide assortment of bills before the legislative session ended but ultimately decided Monday […]
Posted inState Government
Mariano open to tinkering, scrapping, or postponing tax cap law
HOUSE SPEAKER Ron Mariano, clearly frustrated with Gov. Charlie Baker, suggested on Friday that the Legislature could modify, scrap, or delay the 1986 tax cap law that is expected to […]
Posted inState Government
Baker says he’s leaving state in good shape financially
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Thursday signed into law a $52.7 billion state budget for fiscal 2023, representing an unusually high 9.3 percent growth in spending over the prior year. The […]
Posted inState Government, State House News Service
Cap to give ‘north of $2.5b’ in excess tax revenue back to taxpayers
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said on Thursday that he expects a law passed by voters in 1986 will require the state to return more than $2.5 billion to taxpayers in the […]
Posted inState Government
Long-forgotten tax cap about to be triggered
WHILE LAWMAKERS scramble to put together a package of tax breaks in the final days of the legislative session, a little-known law from the mid-1980s is about to alter the […]
Posted inState Government
State budget is a lot more than just a spending plan
FRAIDY REISS, who leads the New Jersey-based advocacy group Unchained At Last, has been fighting to end child marriage in Massachusetts for six years, lobbying lawmakers and testifying at hearings. […]
Posted inState Government
Senate’s $4B economic development bill provides faster tax relief
THE MASSACHUSETTS SENATE released a $4 billion economic development bill on Monday that includes some key spending differences from a House bill in areas like education, human services, and housing. […]
Posted inState Government
Money for crime victim services in budget limbo
WHEN IT IS fully staffed, the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center employs 50 people who run its hotline for sexual assault victims, provide referrals, offer counseling, support survivors in the […]
Posted inThe Download
New tax credit for live performances surfaces again
House leaders are trying once again to launch a new tax credit to lure live theater, dance, and musical productions to Massachusetts. The so-called live performance tax credit received little […]
Posted inState Government
New tax credit for live performances surfaces again
HOUSE LEADERS are trying once again to launch a new tax credit to lure live theater, dance, and musical productions to Massachusetts. The so-called live performance tax credit received little […]
Posted inPolitics, State Government
House proposes $1b in short and long-term tax relief
HOUSE LEADERS rolled out a $523.5 million package of permanent tax breaks on Monday that, when combined with $510 million in one-time payments to middle-income residents proposed last week, would […]
Posted inOpinion
Look at the history: Taxes do make the wealthy migrate
MASSACHUSETTS VOTERS in November will consider a constitutional amendment that would impose an annual 4 percent surcharge on incomes over $1 million. The debate over the surcharge and the merits […]
Posted inThe Download
Gas tax holiday good politics, not policy
A gas tax holiday may be good politics but it’s not good public policy, according to Evan Horowitz, executive director of the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University. […]
Posted inTransportation
Gas tax holiday good politics, not policy
A GAS TAX HOLIDAY may be good politics but it’s not good public policy, according to Evan Horowitz, executive director of the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University. […]
Posted inTransportation
Biden, Baker aligned on gas tax holiday
PRESIDENT BIDEN’S call for gas tax suspensions at the federal and state level is changing the rhetoric around tax relief in Massachusetts, but not Democratic opposition on Beacon Hill. Initially, […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. residents deserve inflation relief
A FEW OF US are old enough to remember the last severe bout with inflation four decades ago. My first mortgage right out of college was a whopping 12 5/8 […]
Posted inEconomy
Raytheon moving headquarters to Virginia
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE IN A BLOW to Massachusetts, Waltham-based Raytheon Technologies is moving its global headquarters to Arlington, Virginia. Raytheon announced its plans Tuesday, saying a headquarters in Virginia […]
Posted inPolitics
Mariano outlines legislative priorities, mentions tax relief
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH THE END of the legislative session within sight, House Speaker Ronald Mariano pitched business leaders Thursday on the central pieces of the agenda he hopes […]
Posted inThe Download
Momentum building for some form of tax relief
For months now, pressure has been building on Beacon Hill lawmakers to provide some form of tax relief to residents. Republicans pushed repeatedly for a gas tax holiday as prices […]
Posted inState Government, State House News Service
Momentum building for some form of tax relief
FOR MONTHS NOW, pressure has been building on Beacon Hill lawmakers to provide some form of tax relief to residents. Republicans pushed repeatedly for a gas tax holiday as prices […]
Posted inOpinion
A strategy for tackling housing, climate crises simultaneously
TWO CRISES are bearing down on our state. There’s the critical shortage of affordable housing, which leaves ever more of our neighbors unable to keep a roof over their heads. […]