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New Census Data Highlights Need for Family Tax Credits Waiting in State House
While the Massachusetts Legislature debates two versions of expanded tax credits to improve affordability for families, new census data dramatically show what a difference these credits make to reduce poverty, especially for children.
Higher Education Investments: Supporting Our Economy and Future Generations
Public higher education is critically important to the success of Massachusetts’ economy, but state support has lagged in recent decades. This report evaluates current proposals to better support campuses and make higher education more affordable, particularly the CHERISH Act and the Debt-Free Public Higher Education Act.
MassBudget testifies to end tax subsidy for private jets
MassBudget testified in support of House bill 2826 and Senate bill 1758, which would end the sales tax exemption for personal aircraft. The exemption disproportionately benefits very wealthy individuals and worsens climate change by encouraging the most fuel-intensive form of travel.
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Three Funds, One Purpose: Implementing Fair Share
The Fiscal Year 2024 budget is the first state budget to include money raised from the Fair Share Amendment, making important investments in education and transportation. Lawmakers took additional steps to create mechanisms that will facilitate transparency, stability, and protect the intent of the amendment.
Your Fair Share Dollars at Work: Critical Investments and Hard Choices
The Fair Share Amendment is doing what voters wanted it to do: making new, important investments in our Commonwealth and making our tax system more equitable.
Statement by MassBudget on the FY2024 Budget
Today the legislature passed a budget bill for Fiscal Year 2024. The $56.26 billion budget now goes to Governor Healey. Enabled by new revenue from the Fair Share Amendment that the voters passed last November, the FY2024 budget makes important investments in education and transportation.
Final Tax Package Can Improve Tax Fairness & Help Build Toward Shared Prosperity
Currently, a conference committee is working on a compromise tax package between the House’s and Senate’s proposals. The fairest tax package would be one that delivers its benefits overwhelmingly to low- and middle-income households and which greatly limits tax cuts for very high-income and wealthy households.
State-Level Child Tax Credits are Having a Moment in the Sun: Will Massachusetts Families be Left in the Dark?
The Massachusetts legislature is considering creating the Child and Family Tax Credit (CFTC), a refundable tax credit for families with children and adult dependents. It is important for our elected officials to choose a more generous option, as many of our neighbors’ household budgets strain under the weight of an affordability crisis.
How Much Would Each District Benefit from the House and Senate Child & Family Tax Credit Proposals?
The proposed Child and Family Tax Credit would help families by providing a refundable credit each year for each child under 13 and dependent adults over 65 years of age or with disabilities. This dashboard identifies – by legislative district – how many dependents would be eligible.
How Many Massachusetts Low-Wage Workers Would be Helped by a Higher Minimum Wage?
What would be the impact if the wage floor was lifted to $20 an hour with a tipped wage increase to $12 an hour? How many people would receive a raise, what are the characteristics of these workers, and how large would their raises be?
UPDATED: High-Income Households Are Not Fleeing Massachusetts
Massachusetts has a lower rate of outmigration among high-income households than among other households. This is true both in the most recent year for which IRS data are available (2020-2021) and over the preceding ten years (2011-2021).
Six Things at Stake for Racial Justice in the FY 2024 Budget Conference
After examining the House and Senate Fiscal Year 2024 budget proposals, our budget analysts highlighted six differences between the two that have implications for racial equity.
Debunking the Five Major Myths About Outmigration
Recently, multiple news articles, op-eds, and think tank reports have asserted that Massachusetts is suffering an exodus of households, particularly high-income households, fleeing to states with lower taxes. These claims about income migration are both overblown and based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the available data.
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.
Estate Tax Cut Proposals Are Costly and Poorly Targeted – Alternative Solutions Exist
Current estate tax proposals would lead to a loss of state revenue and reduce the Commonwealth’s ability to make crucial investments, while having regressive impacts on racial and economic equity. The state should seek alternatives.
What’s Race Got to Do With It? Some Tax Proposals Would Widen Racial Inequality, Others Would Advance Equity
Some of the tax cuts proposed by the Massachusetts House in 2023 would widen economic and racial disparities by disproportionately benefiting wealthier, generally whiter households. Other proposed tax changes would advance equity and would disproportionately benefit households of color.
