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Testimony to support employment of formerly incarcerated individuals and people on transitional assistance in microbusinesses
Policy Director Phineas Baxandall delivers testimony in support for H.2811, “An Act to establish the micro business employee training and workforce development program.”
How Will We Spend Fair Share Dollars? Competing Proposals Highlight Needs and Opportunities
Fiscal Year 2024, which starts in July 2023, is the first state budget to include Fair Share dollars, and the Governor’s, House, and Senate budget proposals differ in how they would spend Fair Share funds. How do their priorities compare?
Estate Tax Cuts Worsen Our Large Racial Wealth Gap
If lawmakers cut the Massachusetts estate tax, it is a small number of high-income, white households that will receive the overwhelming share of the benefits. These cuts would worsen the problem of wealth inequality and undermine our ability to address the problem.
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FY 2021 BUDGET PREVIEW: Four items to watch in the budget debate
The yearly budget cycle kicks off this week with the Governor’s proposal for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 budget. In preparation, MassBudget published a series of briefs that highlight some major stories to watch in the FY 2021 debate. This is a summary of four key stories highlighted in our series.
FY 2021 BUDGET PREVIEW: Revenue Expectations for the FY 2021 State Budget
With a new commitment to increasing state K-12 education funding and the ever more obvious need to repair and upgrade our transportation systems, will lawmakers have the revenue to make the necessary investments in these and other budget priorities?
Case Study: Increasing Quality After-School Opportunities in Salem, Massachusetts
Without sufficient funding, communities across the Commonwealth face challenges in helping all students, particularly those most in need of additional support, gain access to affordable, quality after-school opportunities. This report aims to provide tailored guidance to one community, Salem, Massachusetts, on how to provide services to more youth. This includes evaluating its current after-school landscape, compiling data from local providers, applying lessons learned from after-school efforts across the country, and providing recommendations on how Salem can expand access to quality after-school.
FY 2021 BUDGET PREVIEW: Delivering on the K-12 Education Funding Overhaul & the Student Opportunity Act (SOA)
Now that the state has revamped its education funding formula, how will lawmakers fund these changes in this first year of implementation?
FY 2021 BUDGET PREVIEW: Will the Transportation Budget Reflect New Realities? 6 Things to Look Out For
Will the Governor’s FY 2021 budget proposal indicate his commitment toward improving public transit, developing regional rail, reducing traffic congestion, and other priorities?
FY 2021 BUDGET PREVIEW: Will the Governor reboot his dependent deduction proposal or take a more targeted approach?
Will the Governor again propose to double the state’s dependent deduction, which wasn’t adopted by the Legislature, or will state lawmakers provide more targeted tax support for working families with greater need?
Impact of the Increase in the Massachusetts Minimum Wage to $12.75
These infographics show the impacts of the increase in the Massachusetts minimum wage on January 1, 2020, from $12 to $12.75 per hour.
Obstacles on the Road to Opportunity: Finding a Way Forward for the Children and Families of Massachusetts
Data describing our communities document that opportunity is not equally available to children and families across the Commonwealth. While effective public policy removes obstacles along the road to opportunity, good jobs play a central role in paving that road. Yet economic policies have allowed wages to stagnate, and important work support programs and other essential benefits that allow children and families to thrive are at risk, especially as a result of recent federal policy.
Corporate Tax Series Part 4: Rising Profits, Falling Tax Shares
This latest report analyzes how amid a decades-long decline in corporate income tax share businesses avoid $1.4B in 2019 tax, and explores policy solutions that could help restore the balance. Interested in the finding the full corporate tax series? Read our other reports on how business taxes compare to other states, on the Massachusetts corporate minimum tax, and the Single Sales Factor.
Massachusetts Poverty Rate and Median Income Improved in 2018, but Not by Enough
The United States is in the midst of the longest economic expansion in its history, following the Great Recession with sustained recovery. Massachusetts’ economy today exemplifies this, highlighted by continued job growth and a very low unemployment rate that is consistently below the national level. If a rising tide lifts all boats, we should see all Massachusetts residents benefiting, but this isn’t the case.
Credit Where Credit is Due: The EITC and CTC – two proven tools to keep low-paid workers out of poverty
One of the most successful ways to lift people out of poverty is through tax credits targeted to low- and moderate-income families. Families use these credits to reduce their income taxes or receive a refund check. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) are two widely successful tax credit programs for improving family economic security and well-being — combined, the credits lift more people out of poverty than any other federal program except Social Security. Nonetheless, there are opportunities to make these programs even better.
Wrong on Schedule: How Unstable Scheduling Hurts Massachusetts Workers and their Families
Over the next several years, Massachusetts will see more job openings in hourly retail and food service positions (salespersons, cashiers, fast food workers, and wait staff) than in almost any other occupation. For workers paid by the hour, time, as the saying goes, is money — literally. That means they need to count on stable, sufficient, and predictable schedules, which allow them to earn a decent living, and have time to take care of themselves and their families.
Shifting the Balance: How a Massachusetts “Fair Workweek” Law Can Protect Workers and their Families from Unstable Schedules
As laid out in a companion report, Wrong on Schedule: How Unstable Scheduling Hurts Massachusetts Workers and their Families, employers in low-wage service industries like …
The Pros and Cons of Higher Gas Taxes, and How They Could be Offset for Lower-Income Families
As the Commonwealth seeks to improve our aging transportation system, policy makers have considered raising the gas tax. This paper assesses the gas tax along several well-established criteria for evaluating taxes: efficiency, fairness, and reliability. Based on these criteria, the gas tax receives mixed grades. Offsetting the tax with low-income tax credits could help.
