By Christian M. Wade, Jan 27, 2026
A proposal to cut Massachusetts’ personal income tax to 4% would cost the state government an estimated $5 billion a year in lost revenue, according to a new report from a left-leaning policy group, which warns the move would trigger deep cuts in public services.
Inching toward the Nov. 3 ballot is a proposal by the Massachusetts High Technology Council, Pioneer Institute and other groups to reduce the personal income tax rate from 5% to 4% over three years, which backers say would save individual taxpayers an estimated $3,000 during that period.
But the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center says cutting the income tax rate would mean an estimated $5 billion less revenue for the state government.
“Income taxes provide the largest single source of revenue to the Commonwealth, enabling support for everything from schools, parks, libraries, roads, and health care, to aid for cities and towns,” the report’s authors wrote. “The loss of these public funds would force deep cuts to public programs and infrastructure.”
Likewise, the group said the rate cut would deliver unequal relief for Massachusetts households, with middle- and low-income taxpayers is seeing only “modest benefits” while those with the highest incomes would see “large windfalls” in tax savings.
“By delivering large windfalls to the state’s most affluent and only small or modest benefits to everyone else, the tax cut would widen Massachusetts’ already large inequalities of income and wealth,” the report’s authors wrote.
