Category: Taxes

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Beacon Hill’s “Double-Dip” Tax Break Misses the Mark for Struggling Communities, Families, and Small Businesses

Statement by Marie-Frances Rivera, MassBudget President, on the PPP “double-dip” tax break   “The Legislature’s decision yesterday on Emergency Paid Sick Time and Unemployment Insurance …

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Making sense of the state budget, taxes, and the Governor’s FY22 proposal

MassBudget welcomed our new and returning Massachusetts legislators and their staff with an overview of the state budget and taxes, as well as a briefing on the Governor’s FY 2022 budget proposal. Re-watch the briefing here.

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Massachusetts Should Prohibit “Double-Dip” Tax Break for Profitable Businesses

Click here for a PDF version of this statement. S.D. 172, “An act providing financial relief to small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic”, is bad …

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Raising Rates on Unearned Income: An Equitable Way to Avoid Cuts and Support a Robust and Just Recovery

As a Commonwealth, we must respond to these intertwined health and economic crises in ways that acknowledge and correct for these deep-seated and longstanding inequities. …

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FY 2021 Budget & Tax Options

Two weeks ago, the Executive Office of Administration and Finance (ANF) provided updated revenue projections for the current fiscal year (FY21). ANF now estimates an …

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Testimony for the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees, the Joint Committee on Revenue, and the Executive Office of Administration and Finance Economic Roundtable

We’re clearly in a budget crisis. Which is extremely troubling at this time, when we need real, comprehensive relief for families and individuals — so many of our neighbors, young and old, are struggling with accessing basic necessities and keeping healthy and well.

Our Commonwealth’s budget – how we raise revenue through taxes and fees, and how we spend that revenue – is the clearest picture of our shared values. Considering the revenue side picture is crucial, but the other side of the ledger is just, if not more important.

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State Borrowing is No Substitute for New Revenue in Dealing with the COVID-19 Economic Downturn

States rely on borrowing to manage their finances in good times and bad. Yet borrowing is not a substitute for raising the revenue needed for an economic recovery. Policymakers should look to raising progressive new revenues paired with limited borrowing to avoid cuts to critical public spending.

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Supporting Racial Equity and a Robust Recovery with a Corporate Income Tax Rate Increase

By returning the state corporate income tax to pre-2010 rates, the Commonwealth could raise $375 million to $500 million a year to help fund a racially equitable, economically just, and robust recovery.

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Municipal Budgets, Local Aid, and Property Taxes Amid COVID-19

As a result of the pandemic, municipalities face increased spending needs and declining revenues. Many have the ability to raise property taxes, though others are constrained by Proposition 2 1/2. Moreover, property taxes tend to fall hardest on those with lower incomes. Without sufficient municipal aid, cities and towns may be forced to make public cuts which would slow the economic recovery.

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Road to Recovery: How to Safely Reopen Early Education in Massachusetts

As the Commonwealth’s early education and care sector reopens, many providers are at risk of closing permanently unless there is a significant new source of funding. Learn more about COVID-19’s impact on early education in our latest report, and what it will take to safely reopen.

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