While the House Committee on Ways and Means (HWM) tax bill helps families and seniors by expanding refundable tax credits, it also includes concerning tax cuts that benefit the wealthy – policy that rolls back progress on equity and undermines our competitiveness by limiting our ability to invest in our communities.
On the positive side, the House proposes a boost to the EITC and the Child and Family Tax Credit, and recognizes the need to reform the arbitrary 62F tax cap. Kudos to the committee for including these elements in their package.
Compared to last summer’s House tax package, however, HWM proposes more costly estate tax cuts that give the biggest benefits to the largest estates, which would worsen economic inequality and the racial wealth gap. It also includes an unnecessary single sales factor tax cut for corporations and a short-term capital gains cut, the benefits of which would go overwhelmingly to the wealthiest.
We hope the ultimate benefits of the final tax package will shift markedly toward supporting low and middle income communities and communities of color as it moves through the Legislature. It is investments in our people – not tax cuts for the wealthy and big businesses – that will allow Massachusetts families to grow and prosper, and that will attract additional workers and businesses to the Bay State.
