Taxes
ALL TAXES REPORTS
Ending the Tax Penalty Against Working Immigrants
Immigrants in Massachusetts have shouldered an outsized risk as frontline workers during the pandemic. Yet thousands of them and their families who work and pay taxes are prevented from receiving important support through the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) because they are ineligible for a Social Security Number. If the Commonwealth extended its EITC to people who pay taxes with an Income Tax Identification Number (ITIN), an estimated additional 13,200 households would apply for and benefit from the credit. For the Massachusetts state budget, the cost of extending the credit would be about $9.3 million. The law requires all wage ...
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结束针对工薪阶层新移民的税收处罚
在疫情期间，马萨诸塞州的新移民作为一线工人承担了巨大的风险。 然而，由于他们没有资格获得社会安全号码，数千名正在工作并纳税的人及其家庭因此而无法获得收入所得税抵免（EITC）的政府支持。 如果麻州政府将改税务优惠EITC扩展到允许使用所得税识别号（ITIN）纳税的人也可以申请，估计将有13200多户的家庭可以从中受益。 该举措对马萨诸塞州政府的预算，总计约为930万美元。
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Ending the Tax Penalty Against Working Immigrants: MA Should Follow Other States Extending EITC to Immigrant Tax Filers
Who are ITIN filers? Immigrants in Massachusetts have shouldered an outsized risk as frontline workers during the pandemic. Yet thousands of immigrants and their families who work and pay taxes are prevented from receiving important support through the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) because they are ineligible for a Social Security Number. The law requires all wage earners to pay taxes, regardless of immigration status. The Internal Revenue Service provides immigrants who are ineligible for a Social Security Number with an Income Tax Identification Number (ITIN) so they can comply with tax laws.1 Immigrants paying taxes with an ITIN are ...
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Terminando con la penalidad contributiva para inmigrantes trabajadores
Los inmigrantes en Massachusetts han asumido un riesgo excesivo como trabajadores de primera línea durante la pandemia. Pero miles de ellos y sus familias, que trabajan y pagan contribuciones, no pueden recibir apoyo importante a través del Crédito por Ingreso del Trabajo (EITC, por sus siglas en inglés) porque no son elegibles para un número de Seguro Social. Si Massachusetts le extendiera su EITC a las personas que pagan contribuciones bajo un Número de Identificación de Contribuyente (ITIN, por sus siglas en inglés), un estimado de 13,200 hogares adicionales podrían solicitar y beneficiarse de este crédito. Para el presupuesto del ...
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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 (UI) creates cause for celebration. Providing targeted tax relief for unemployed workers whose income falls below 200 percent of the poverty line is commendable. As stated in our recent brief, Black, Latinx, and Indigenous workers, as well as low-income workers, have particularly benefited from UI. These two policies provide opportunities for an equitable recovery from the pandemic. The Legislature’s decision is also cause for concern because it creates a new “double-dip” tax break only for those business ...
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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 fiscal policy, bad economic policy, bad social policy and bad tax policy. Moreover, the problem that supporters of S.D. 172 argue must be fixed doesn’t actually exist. PPP loans were provided by the federal government to businesses to help them meet payroll, pay rent or mortgages, and cover utility costs. If used as intended, business owners’ PPP loans will be converted into grants on which they will pay no federal or state income tax – ...
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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. Raising additional revenue through rate increases on unearned income would help the Commonwealth address the immediate harms of the pandemic, as well as make the investments that will speed us toward a just and robust recovery. What is “unearned income”? Broadly speaking, the income people receive can be divided into two categories, “earned income” and “unearned income.” Earned income typically comes in the form of wages and/or salaries directly connected to the daily work that ...
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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 FY21 tax revenue shortfall of $3.6 billion. This new estimate resets the baseline from which the Governor and Legislature must build their respective FY21 budget proposals. Drawing on a variety of one-time revenue sources, including the state’s “rainy day” fund, the Governor proposes funding most program areas at levels similar to the levels provided in FY20. One notable exception is the state’s MassHealth program, for which the Commonwealth has received additional federal reimbursements, allowing the ...
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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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Mass. Raised Revenue in Last Three Recessions, Reducing Cuts
Cutting budgets and failing to invest in communities hardest hit by the pandemic perpetuates the deep racial inequities built into the current system. Learn more about how the Commonwealth has solved the challenges of past economic recessions in our latest report.
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