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 to successfully wrap up by the end of July and called on them to help develop ideas to address child care needs next session. In […]
Taxes and Budget Issues
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 at the pump soared. Gov. Charlie Baker backed a $700 million package that matched tax breaks for seniors, renters, and low-income taxpayers with cuts in […]
Posted inState Government
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 at the pump soared. Gov. Charlie Baker backed a $700 million package that matched tax breaks for seniors, renters, and low-income taxpayers with cuts in […]
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. And there is the climate crisis, which promises more powerful storms, flooding, and deadly heat waves. These crises demand urgent action. Now, a diverse coalition […]
Posted inUncategorized
With tax revenues soaring, Spilka calls for relief package
MASSACHUSETTS TAX revenues continued to soar in April, astonishing experts who track the numbers and prompting Senate President Karen Spilka to announce that she intends to push for some sort of tax relief package before the end of June. April tax collections totaled $6.9 billion, up more than $3 billion compared to the same month […]
Posted inUncategorized
House Democrats refuse to budge on tax relief
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HOUSE DEMOCRATS kicked off debate Monday on a nearly $50 billion state budget bill by rejecting Republican-led efforts to weave tax relief into the annual spending plan. Massachusetts raked in more than $5 billion in surplus tax revenues last fiscal year and is running at least $1.5 billion ahead of the […]
Posted inThe Download
Mass. farmers raise concerns about millionaire tax
Polling suggests the millionaire tax is popular with voters because it targets the uber-wealthy — after all, someone earning so much money should be able to afford paying an extra 4 percent on any income over $1 million. The challenge for opponents of the November ballot question is to convince voters that the tax doesn’t […]
Posted inPolitics
Mass. farmers raise concerns about millionaire tax
POLLING SUGGESTS the millionaire tax is popular with voters because it targets the uber-wealthy — after all, someone earning so much money should be able to afford paying an extra 4 percent on any income over $1 million. The challenge for opponents of the November ballot question is to convince voters that the tax doesn’t […]
Posted inHealth Care
State seeks $600m in Robin Hood Medicaid plan
EVEN AS DEBATE continues in the Legislature over how best to help community hospitals in the long term, a technical provision included in Gov. Charlie Baker’s state budget proposal could result in a $600 million annual windfall to the state’s hospitals, with an emphasis on those that serve more low-income patients. Baker officials wrote in […]
Posted inThe Download
Bond rating firm not alarmed by gas tax suspensions
In Connecticut, Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont and the Democrat-controlled legislature responded to the sharp runup in fuel prices by passing a law suspending the state’s 25-cent excise tax on gasoline and eliminating bus fares statewide for a three-month period running from April 1 to June 30. For good measure, the Connecticut legislation tossed in a […]