Talks are already underway between Gov. Maura Healey, state lawmakers and unnamed “stakeholders” about what kinds of taxes and fees are necessary to address a massive list of infrastructure needs at the MBTA, Healey said Thursday.
State legislators’ vote last week to send nearly $300 million from the Fair Share Amendment tax to public transit agencies is a step in the right direction, but two vital, additional steps must be taken in the coming years.
Without the short-term capital gains tax rate reduction favored by Gov. Maura Healey and the House, the Senate tax package “offers little” to offset the Fair Share Amendment tax hike on the wealthy, Eileen McAnneny said.
It is essential that this new source of revenue be used to strengthen transportation infrastructure, and RTAs are key in realizing a robust transit system that delivers for all residents.
The transit agencies that provide bus service to the hundreds of cities and towns across Massachusetts not covered by the MBTA would see a serious boost in funding under the state Senate’s plan to spend the first haul of funds from the new Millionaires Tax.
The sudden thud of collapsing state tax revenues echoed through the halls of Beacon Hill on Wednesday, inverting a projected surplus of hundreds of millions of dollars into a shortfall nearly as large and reshaping debate about government spending and tax relief plans.
More than three-quarters of Massachusetts residents support boosting funding for the state’s 15 regional transit authorities, which provide local bus and paratransit services beyond the reach of the MBTA.
If high-income households employ a legal tax avoidance strategy, the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center says the state legislature should require that Bay Staters use the same filing status for their federal and state income taxes.
Just about two months before the first few dollars in extra income tax will begin to trickle into state coffers, the Legislative Regional Transit Authority Caucus is joining other transportation and education advocates in positioning their priorities to receive those funds.
Legal tax avoidance strategies – like structuring transactions in a way that minimizes reported taxable income or curtailing stock trading – could reduce the state’s Millionaires Tax revenue by about $670 million.
A clear majority of likely Massachusetts voters want the state legislature and Gov. Maura Healey to leave untouched the 1986 tax law that triggered nearly $3 billion in mandatory rebates last year, according to new polling results.
With the voter-approved surtax on Massachusetts’ highest earners set to start in the new year, Bay State accountants are already urging their clients to adapt.
Reiterating that affordability and tax reform are among her chief concerns as she prepares to become governor, Maura Healey said Tuesday that she does not see those priorities as being “a wash” when combined with her support for the new income surtax.
The ideal plan for implementing the Millionaires Tax is to adopt a big-picture vision over the next year, paired with a comprehensive transportation finance plan that addresses repairs, maintenance and resiliency needs.
Educators from across Massachusetts are making it clear that public higher education is on the top of their priority list for the newfound funds from a surtax on incomes over $1 million.
Business groups are now warning that the state needs to act to retain its economic competitiveness with strategic investments in transit and education or tax cuts following the passage of a tax hike on high earners.
Flush with cash from bold-name donors, opponents of the proposed Constitutional amendment to add a 4 percent surtax on annual household income above $1 million on Monday launched their first TV ad campaign.
The Supreme Judicial Court rejected business groups’ latest legal challenge to the blockbuster ballot question asking voters if they support a new surtax on household income above $1 million.
A handful of business owners from various sectors are saying the proposed surtax on income over $1 million would affect more than the super-wealthy.
A new tax on Massachusetts millionaires up for a vote on this fall’s ballot would add much less revenue for the state than originally predicted, according to a new report.
