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“State’s tax growth forecast barely exceeds inflation rate” – Boston Herald
By State House News Service, January 15, 2026 State officials agreed Wednesday to build their next annual budgets on the estimate that Massachusetts will collect $44.9 billion in tax revenue, 2.9% more than is expected to come in this year, and also coalesced around a new schedule that delays elimination of the state’s unfunded pension liability. Secretary of Administration and Finance Matthew Gorzkowicz, Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues and House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz said their tax estimate agreement includes money coming in from the surtax on high-earning households. Excluding surtax revenue, the agreement foresees $42.2 billion ...
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“State’s tax growth forecast barely exceeds inflation rate” – State House News Service
By COLIN A. YOUNG, Jan. 14, 2026 State officials agreed Wednesday to build their next annual budgets on the estimate that Massachusetts will collect $44.9 billion in tax revenue, 2.9% more than is expected to come in this year, and also coalesced around a new schedule that delays elimination of the state’s unfunded pension liability. Secretary of Administration and Finance Matthew Gorzkowicz, Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues and House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz said their tax estimate agreement includes money coming in from the surtax on high-earning households. Excluding surtax revenue, the agreement foresees $42.2 billion in tax revenue for ...
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MassBudget Statement on the FY 2027 Consensus Revenue Estimate (CRE)
MassBudget statement released on 1/14/26 at 4:30PM “Today the Governor, Senate President, and Speaker of the House jointly announced the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Consensus Revenue Estimate (CRE) which dictates how much money the state has to spend in the upcoming fiscal year. The CRE for FY 2027 has been set at $44.9 billion. This total includes $2.7 billion dollars in surtax revenues from the Fair Share Amendment that can be spent on public education and transportation needs. Last year’s Fair Share revenue far exceeded official projections. It is heartening to see that lawmakers are confident the surtax will continue ...
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“Amid calls to use $8.6B Mass. rainy day fund for federal cuts, Healey isn’t budging” – NBC10 Boston
By John Moroney, November 13, 2025 Hundreds of thousand of people in Massachusetts could lose their health care benefits because of the deal to end the shutdown. Holding umbrellas outside the State House on Thursday, Raise Up Massachusetts urged state leaders to spend part of the $8.6 billion rainy day fund to make up for federal budget cuts. “It’s what it’s for. It’s for helping us when times are hard. It’s explicit, the law says, that it should be used when there is a loss of federal funds,” said Phineas Baxandall of The Massachusetts Budget Policy Center. Proponents say the reserves could ...
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Protect Massachusetts’s Fiscal Stability: Which OB3 Tax Changes to Opt Out of and Why
Unfortunately, changes to the federal corporate tax code included in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OB3) will make our state fiscal situation worse. Many of these changes will enter our state tax code automatically, costing the Commonwealth hundreds of millions of dollars in lost corporate tax revenue unless state lawmakers opt out of these provisions. Detaching the state’s tax code from specific provisions in the federal code is a common practice known as “decoupling.”
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Show Me the Money: Cannabis Revenue, Spending, and Equity in Massachusetts
Key Takeaways Since the legalization of recreational, adult-use cannabis in 2016, cannabis sales in Massachusetts have generated nearly $2 billion in state and local revenue, with total adult-use retail sales reaching over $8 billion as of August 2025. Revenue from the Marijuana Regulation Fund (MRF), the main fund that receives cannabis revenue, supports various programs across public health, community investment, law and public safety, and regulatory oversight, with public health receiving the largest percentage. Massachusetts has led the nation in cannabis social equity programs. The initial legislation, revised after the 2016 ballot initiative, includes mandated social equity components to promote ...
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Payouts and Risks in Massachusetts’s Gambling Revenue
Key Takeaways The Lottery, casinos, and sports betting together generate $1.5 billion in annual taxes, the state’s fourth largest source of revenue. The Lottery is the largest source, but has fallen by a third since 2002, when adjusted for inflation. Problem gambling disproportionately harms lower-income and non-white bettors. Lottery revenue is used for local aid, which is somewhat targeted to lower-income communities. State spending of casino revenue has changed over time and concentrated in a few programs. Growing online sports betting may be replacing some casino gambling. It pays lower tax rates on profits and poses new dangers for problem ...
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MassBudget’s Analysis of the FY 2026 General Appropriations Act
The state budget Governor Maura Healey signed on July 4th for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 reflects both caution in the face of federal funding threats and the new possibilities for investment in education and transportation made viable by surging revenue from the Fair Share surtax.
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Preliminary Analysis: FY 2026 Conference Committee Budget Proposal
The Conference Committee’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal, released Sunday, June 29, allocates over $61 billion in spending for the Commonwealth. MassBudget shares our preliminary analysis of the proposal.
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MassBudget’s Statement on the FY 2026 Conference Budget
On Sunday, June 29th, the Conference Committee released their proposed budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, outlining a plan to spend over $61 billion for the upcoming fiscal year beginning July 1.
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