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The Growing Cost of Special Business Tax Break Spending
The cost to the state from special business tax break spending has nearly tripled, even after adjusting for inflation, from $370 million in 1996 to over $1 billion anticipated in this fiscal year. Despite the findings of a 2012 report from a state special commission that called for limiting these breaks and studying their effectiveness, most state business tax breaks have not faced a thorough examination.
Building a Strong Economy: The Roles of Education, Transportation, and Tax Policy
Effective economic policies can create a more highly productive state economy and make it possible to improve economic opportunity and security for working families. This paper examines the economic research on the relationship between effective investments in education and transportation and improved economic productivity. The paper also examines the economic effects of tax reforms that can fund those investments.
Massachusetts’s Earned Income Tax Credit
The EITC improves the economic security of working families by increasing the after tax incomes of low and moderate wage workers. This factsheet explains how the tax credit works, describes how many families and individuals it helps in Massachusetts, and examines recent research on the long-term effects of the EITC on families and children.
Massachusetts Ranks in Middle for Taxes in FY 2013
Analyzing recently updated data from the Census on state and local taxes across the country, this factsheet compares the overall level of state and local taxes in Massachusetts to the level in other states.
Where Does the Taxachusetts Label Come From?
This factsheet explains the history of the “Taxachusetts” label and describes how it is at odds with the reality of the level of taxation in Massachusetts today.
Large gains in health coverage, some growth in incomes, big challenges remain
New Census data released this week shows that ACA implementation led to the largest single-year increase in health insurance coverage nationwide in 2014. Also, incomes in Massachusetts increased and child poverty declined for the first time since 2008. But we have a long way to go. Incomes are barely growing across the country and more than one in five children nationally (and more than one in seven in Massachusetts) lived in poverty in 2014.
How Do Massachusetts Business Taxes Compare to Other States?
This factsheet examines findings from the Council on State Taxation’s (COST) annual report examining the taxation of businesses in each state. The report accounts for all state and local taxes and finds that Massachusetts is a relatively low tax state for business.
Labor Day 2015: Important Gains, Many Challenges for MA Workers
Labor Day will arrive again this Monday, offering all of us a chance to remember and to celebrate the social and economic achievements of American workers. While Massachusetts workers have seen some improvements recently – including lower unemployment, a higher minimum wage and earned paid sick time – unfortunately, since the late 1970s, our national and state economies have not given workers much cause for celebration.
Examining Tax Fairness
Taxes are the primary way we pay for the things that we do together through government. As this Facts-At-A-Glance details, overall, the Massachusetts tax system is regressive, collecting a larger share of household income from lower-income households than it does from upper-income households.
Income Tax Cuts and the Budget Deficit in Massachusetts
Beginning in 1998, a number of significant changes were made to the Massachusetts tax code–including a series of phased cuts to the state personal income tax. These cuts have reduced our capacity to fund essential services.
