ITEP Work in Action
Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center: How Much Does the Millionaire Tax Improve Tax Fairness? How Does Massachusetts Compare Now to Other States?
January 10, 2024
A new 50-state analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) finds that Massachusetts’ recently adopted millionaire tax makes Massachusetts’ state and local tax system much more equitable. Even under current law, however, those with incomes over $1 million still will pay a smaller share of their income in state and local taxes […]
Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center: What’s Race Got to Do With It? Some Tax Proposals Would Widen Racial Inequality, Others Would Advance Equity
May 17, 2023
Lawmakers have proposed a variety of tax cuts, some of which would provide outsize benefits to the most affluent households and widen existing racial and economic disparities. Other proposed tax changes would make the Commonwealth more equitable by targeting benefits to lower-income households who need them the most. Read more.
Massachussets Budget & Policy Center: Taking Measure of the Governor’s Tax Plan
March 21, 2023
Governor Healey’s tax relief proposal would reduce state revenue available for future investments by $986 million annually. Three proposed tax credits would be progressive, meaning the benefits for lower-income households would be a larger percent of their income than the benefits for higher-income houseolds..1 The Governor also proposes two highly regressive tax cuts, meaning richer, higher-income households would receive […]
Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center: Ending the Tax Penalty Against Working Immigrants: MA Should Follow Other States Extending EITC to Immigrant Tax Filers
May 17, 2021
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a key program for reducing poverty in the United States. Together with the federal Child Tax Credit, these low-income federal credits lifted 7.5 million households above the poverty line in 2019, more than any other program except Social Security. In Massachusetts, the EITC provides support to more than […]
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: Supporting Racial Equity and a Robust Recovery with a Corporate Income Tax Rate Increase
August 10, 2020
By returning the state corporate income tax to pre2010 rates, the Commonwealth could raise $375 million to $500 million a year to help fund a racially equitable, economically just, and robust recovery. As is now clear, low-income communities and communities of color have been hurt far more deeply by the COVID-19 pandemic than wealthier and […]
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: The Gas Tax: What it is and Who Pays
January 31, 2020
Data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) detail how the current system of state and local taxes in Massachusetts is regressive, largely because the state uses a flat income tax rate and relies heavily on sales taxes. The chart above shows how an increase in the gas tax would make Massachusetts taxes […]
CommonWealth: Before the T Derailed, its Funding Got on the Wrong Track
July 16, 2019
Overall, funding for the Commonwealth during the last two decades has relied increasingly on sales taxes and regressive user fees, while cutting income tax rates. As a result, we have an upside-down tax system. Effectively, these taxes and fees make lower-income Massachusetts residents pay a higher percentage (10 percent) of their income in state and […]
MassBudget: Why Highest Incomes in Massachusetts Receive Most Tax Benefits from Charitable Deduction
February 11, 2019
Our Commonwealth does best when all people experience rising prosperity. But for several decades, the wealth and income of the top 1 percent of households has grown briskly while others have been left behind. While there are many reasons for this trend, one contributing factor is the way the federal tax deduction for charitable giving […]
MassBudget: 14 Options for Raising Progressive Revenue
January 14, 2019
People in Massachusetts seek to live in communities that provide a high quality of life for their family and neighbors. We value good schools, police and fire protection, libraries and parks, smooth roads and reliable transit, and supports to help families struggling through tough times. A community’s day-to-day well-being and its long-term prosperity are built […]
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: Who Pays? Low and Middle Earners in Massachusetts Pay Larger Share of their Incomes in Taxes
October 25, 2018
Taxes are the main way communities pay for the things we do together. Taxes pay for essential programs and infrastructure we take for granted, like fire protection, public education, and health inspectors; roads, bridges, and public transit; and the support for people facing hard times. Examining how much people at different income levels pay in taxes is important when considering the fairness of tax policy.
MassBudget: What Does the Federal Tax Law Mean for Massachusetts and How Might the Commonwealth Respond?
January 22, 2018
The tax cuts are also skewed toward high-income tax filers when measured as a portion of their own incomes.
MassBudget: Sweeter than SALT: Highest-Income Households Get Federal Tax Cuts More Than Twice SALT Losses
January 11, 2018
For Massachusetts’ highest-income households – those with annual incomes over $1 million – the average tax cuts from other federal changes in the law are more than twice the average size of the impact from the loss of SALT deductibility.
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: The Evidence on Millionaire Migration and Taxes
April 27, 2017
Economists consistently find that a well-educated workforce and a high-quality transportation system are among the bedrock elements upon which a prosperous state economy is built. Providing everyone with access to the education and training they need to reach their full potential boosts the productivity of individual workers and strengthens the overall economy.
Massachusets Budget and Policy Center: Funding Improvements for Schools, Roads, and Public Transit with Tax Reforms that Improve Fairness
December 23, 2015
Our economic growth is not translating into significant economic progress for most of our people and this directly harms working families. The lack of more broadly shared economic progress also has harmed our state’s ability to make important investments that can make life better for working people.
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: Examining Tax Fairness
October 21, 2015
Taxes are the primary way we pay for the things that we do together through government. These include things like police and fire protection; public education; roads, bridges and public transportation; a safety net for when people face hard times; and more. Determining how much people at different income levels pay in taxes is important […]
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: Licenses for Immigrant Drivers in Massachusetts
October 21, 2015
Immigrants make important contributions to the Massachusetts economy. They spend income as consumers and contribute to state and local taxes.Yet, they often face barriers to full inclusion and economic stability. For instance, many immigrants with specific training and credentials from their home country have a difficult time finding jobs in their field because these foreign […]
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: Funding Improvements for Schools, Roads, and Public Transit with Tax Reforms that Improve Fairness
September 14, 2015
We can expand opportunity for our people and strengthen our economy by making smart investments to improve our schools; make our colleges and universities affordable; and build a transportation system that gets families, students, workers and customers to the places they need to be. There are fair and effective ways that we could pay for […]
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: Automatic Income Tax Rate Cuts – Frequently Asked Questions
December 4, 2014
A thriving state economy – one that delivers broadly shared prosperity to workers, families and businesses – depends on key public investments in schools and colleges, subways and highways, public safety and more. We pay for these essential investments with our tax dollars. A series of tax cuts dating from the late 1990s and early […]
Massachusetts Tax Fairness Commission: Report
March 7, 2014
The Tax Fairness Commission was established by the Massachusetts Legislature in 2013 as part of the Act Relative to Transportation Finance. The Commission was charged with analyzing a broad array of the Commonwealth’s tax laws and focused on the equity of current tax policies. The fifteen member bipartisan Commission met publicly eight times from September […]
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: After the Tech Tax Repeal- Remembering the Big Picture
September 24, 2013
The FY 2014 budget included new investments in our transportation system, in education, and in other areas. Part of the funding for these came from a “tech tax,” which is likely to be repealed without being replaced by an ongoing revenue source. This report explores some of the ways we might in the future fund […]
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: Effects of Raising Rates and Exemptions on the State Income Tax
March 12, 2013
This Facts At A Glance updates MassBudget’s analysis of a reform option that would make changes to the way the Commonwealth taxes wage and salary income as well as investment income. The Department of Revenue (DOR) recently examined this reform option and estimated that the proposal’s combined changes would generate between $1.99 billion and $2.11 […]
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: Examining Tax Fairness
March 12, 2013
Taxes are the primary way we pay for the things that we do together through government. These include things like police and fire protection; public education; roads, bridges and public transportation; a safety net for when people face hard times; and more. Determining how much people at different income levels pay in taxes is important […]
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: Possible Reforms to the Governor’s Tax Plan
March 12, 2013
In his FY 2014 budget, the Governor proposes making significant new investments in education and transportation, as well as limiting cuts to other program areas. He proposes paying for these investments with a tax increase, one that would raise an estimated $1.9 billion in new, annual revenue and would do so in a progressive manner […]
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: Facts At A Glance – The Income Tax: Another Reform Option
January 14, 2013
Previous MassBudget fact sheets have examined the Massachusetts personal income tax and a number of reform options (see “Facts At A Glance: The Income Tax”, available at http://www.massbudget.org/768). This Facts At A Glance examines another reform option (currently before the Legislature) that would make changes to the way the Commonwealth taxes wage and salary income […]
Campaign for Our Communities: Support Public Education and Other Vital Services!
January 14, 2013
“We need to invest in our communities and keep middle-class families working and earning! An Act to Invest in Our Communities – HB 2553 / SB 1416 – does just that. This bill takes a balanced approach to the fiscal crisis by raising revenue to maintain the services we need and value. By asking more […]
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