THE POLITICAL FIGHT over the millionaire tax never seems to end.

It took eight years for the state’s unions to win passage of a constitutional amendment assessing a 4 percent surcharge on income over $1 million. And as soon as voters gave their approval in November, business groups began lobbying for tax breaks to offset the impact of the millionaire tax using many of the same arguments that surfaced during the years-long campaign.

Making Massachusetts more competitive was a central theme. The business groups said the millionaire tax increased the incentives for high-wealth taxpayers to relocate outside the state. The answer was to tone down or do away with other “outlier” taxes on wealthy residents to prevent the exodus from happening.

“The Massachusetts estate tax, income tax rates on small businesses, and capital gains rates do not make sense following the passage of the surtax. Reducing these taxes must be a core part of tax relief,” said the business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation in a policy brief. 

Gov. Maura Healey, who supported passage of the millionaire tax, bought in to the business community’s reasoning on Monday, proposing a nearly $1 billion tax package that includes hefty tax breaks for parents, renters, and seniors and also pares back or eliminates taxes on estates and short-term capital gains, which primarily impact wealthy residents.

“Affordability, competitiveness, and equity” are the three words Healey used to describe the goal of the tax package. She also defended the estate and capital gains tax cuts as important because the taxes are to some extent unicorns. “What’s important here is Massachusetts not be an outlier,” she said.

Business groups hailed Healey’s package as a good first step. “There is much to support in this tax package, and it certainly represents a good first signal that the administration will work with the business community, especially with the inclusion of capital gains and estate taxes,” said James Rooney, the head of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. “However, there remains much work to do to restore Massachusetts’ competitiveness to keep residents and businesses here, and we look forward to working with the Legislature on this tax package and the budget in the coming months.”

Harris Gruman, executive director of the SEIU State Council, which coordinates the efforts of all six SEIU unions in Massachusetts, said it’s obvious now that his eight-year fight for the millionaire tax didn’t end with its passage. 

He views Healey’s proposal for the estate and capital gains tax cuts as a slap in the face of the voters who in November approved taxing the wealthy at a higher rate on every dollar they earn over a million.

“Why give back to millionaires who have just been asked by voters to pay their fair share. It doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Gruman said.

Gruman says wealthy residents of Massachusetts aren’t as fixated on tax policy as business leaders say they are.

“They’re here because they like it here,” he said. “They have all the money they need so they could be anywhere in the world.”

Gruman said outmigration by lower- and middle-income workers who can’t afford to live here is a far more serious problem. He said some of the tax breaks proposed by Healey would help them, but they don’t really solve the underlying problems with housing, child care, public transportation, and education.

Solving these underlying problems takes time, effort, and money, Gruman said. The so-called Fair Share campaign to pass the millionaire tax was an attempt to provide the money, which is why Gruman says it makes no sense to approve tax breaks that offset those revenue gains.

“Fair share should be an addition to spending,” he said. “We shouldn’t be digging new holes that need to be filled.”

BRUCE MOHL

FROM COMMONWEALTH

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OPINION

No more free roads: Lucas Peilert, a joint degree student at Harvard’s Kennedy and Business Schools, says congestion pricing could solve many of the state’s transportation problems. When roads are free, drivers don’t use them efficiently, he says. Read more.

FROM AROUND THE WEB

BEACON HILL

Gov. Maura Healey signs an executive order creating a Black Empowerment Council that will be headed by Tanisha Sullivan, president of the NAACP Boston, and Anthony Richards of the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency. (Associated Press)

MUNICIPAL MATTERS  

The Wu administration is backing away from vows to abolish the Boston Planning and Development Agency. (Boston Herald) 

HEALTH/HEALTH CARE

The families of three veterans who died of COVID at the Chelsea Soldiers’ Home are suing top state officials over the deaths. (Boston Globe) 

A  judge rules that New Hampshire is illegally commandeering hospital resources by boarding psychiatric patients in emergency rooms. (New Hampshire Public Radio)

ELECTIONS

Special elections have been set to fill the Boston House seats being vacated by Jon Santiago and Ed Coppinger, with the primaries slated for May 2 and the general elections for May 30. (Boston Herald) 

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

The country’s largest net-zero energy, mixed-use development ­– Open Square in Holyoke­ – has been sold for $12 million to a team that has overseen other mill redevelopments on the East Coast. (MassLive)

EDUCATION

Worcester Public Schools call for an investigation into the financial arrangement between Old Sturbridge Village, Old Sturbridge Academy, and the proposed Worcester Cultural Academy. (Worcester Telegram)

ARTS/CULTURE

The Boston Symphony Orchestra is trying to tamp down ticket speculation for hot shows at Tanglewood after Simon Winchester of Sandisfield disclosed he paid $5,095 for four tickets to a James Taylor show on July 4. (Berkshire Eagle)

TRANSPORTATION

Joan Vennochi asks whether US Rep. Richard Neal is giving a pass to CRRC MA, the subsidiary of the Chinese-owned rail company that has multiple problems delivering new MBTA cars from its Springfield assembly facility in Neal’s district. (Boston Globe)  

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS

A man who burned down his house in Swampscott rather than see it go to his wife as part of a divorce settlement is ordered to reimburse the insurance company that covered the loss. (Salem News)

The Boston police swooped in to take out a triple blight on city life, arresting four people on charges related to drugs, guns, and dirt bikes. (Boston Herald) 

MassLandlords, a statewide residential real estate group, is suing for emails between Boston city officials and members of the mayor’s Rent Stabilization Advisory Committee. (MassLive)

Facing a dire officer shortage, New Bedford is offering a $5,000 signing bonus to new police recruits. (New Bedford Light) 

MEDIA

The Boston Globe was the big winner of Facebook’s efforts to help local journalism. (Media Nation)

In a legal filing, Rupert Murdoch, the chair of the media empire that owns Fox News, said many of the network’s hosts endorsed the false narrative that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump. He said he could have stopped them, but didn’t. (New York Times)