Massachusetts
State Rundown 10/22: Despite Obstacles, Progressive Taxes Define 2026
• By ITEP Staff
As more states move to raise revenue and tax the rich, anti-tax lobbyists and lawmakers are hard at work to undo that progress. Despite pushback, important conversations around needed revenue continue.
New State Taxes on the Wealthy Raise Revenue and Rebalance Tax Codes, Advancing Racial Justice
• By Brakeyshia Samms
Taxing the rich is proven fiscal policy – it raises revenue for vital public services and makes tax codes fairer. But a part of the debate that rarely gets enough attention: taxing the rich is also one of the most effective tools available for advancing racial equity.
State Rundown 9/24: States Reckon with Tightening Fiscal Futures
• By ITEP Staff
States across the nation are reckoning with their tightening fiscal futures as inflation and economic woes continue to eat into their budgets.
Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center: Strengthening the Foundation: 28 Progressive Revenue Options for Building a Better Massachusetts
• By ITEP Staff
This new tool describes 28 ways the Commonwealth could generate substantial new revenue in a manner that would fall least heavily on people with the least ability to pay.
State Child Tax Credits Will Boost Financial Security for Families and Children in 2027
• By Neva Butkus
Sixteen states provide Child Tax Credits to reduce poverty, boost economic security, and invest in children. State lawmakers have several options to maximize the impact of Child Tax Credits.
2026 State Tax Ballot Measures to Watch
• By Aidan Davis
This fall, voters across the country will consider a host of ballot measures that could reshape the fairness and adequacy of their states’ tax systems. Here’s some of what we’re following.
Senator Elizabeth Warren: Warren, King Seek Data on Tax Break for Ultra-Wealthy Expanded by Republicans in One Big Beautiful Bill
• By ITEP Staff
The QSBS exclusion allows investors who buy stock in a “qualified business” to write off as much as 100 percent of their capital gains when they sell that stock, in some cases delivering millions of dollars in tax breaks.
State-by-State Tax Expenditure Reports
• By ITEP Staff
Below is a list of tax expenditure reports published in the states.
State Rundown 6/25: Trending This Summer? New Revenue!
• By ITEP Staff
It's the first official week of summer, and while many of us are planning vacations, state lawmakers remain busy finalizing and debating tax proposals.
State Rundown 6/11: Taxing the Rich Heats Up
• By ITEP Staff
As we head into summer, many state legislatures are in the final stretches of their sessions. Rhode Island moved another step closer to joining the ranks of Washington, Maine, and Hawai’i in enacting a new high-income surcharge this year.
As Inequality Grows, More States Look to Tax the Rich
• By Alex Welch
From surcharges on the income of high-earners to higher taxes on second homes, here are recent steps states have taken to tax the rich.
State Tax Watch 2026
• By ITEP Staff
ITEP tracks tax discussions in legislatures across the country and uses our unique data capacity to analyze the revenue, distributional, and racial and ethnic impacts of many of these proposals. State Tax Watch offers the latest news and movement from each state.
Pioneer Institute Criticizes ITEP For Not Writing the Paper They Would Have Written
• By Eli Byerly-Duke
Voters, lawmakers, researchers, and advocates frequently disagree about ideal tax policy. But the facts here speak for themselves.
Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center: Testimony Regarding an Act To Manage Federal Tax Changes in Massachusetts
• By ITEP Staff
The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) proposes that the state opts out the five most costly federal corporate tax cuts made in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Read more.
Education Week: How Do Schools Solve a Problem Like Property Taxes?
February 19, 2026
As tax season dawns, backlash to a nationwide surge in property-tax bills is spurring states to double down on proposals to diminish one of the main revenue sources for school districts. At least 10 states are pitching the end of one of schools’ chief revenue sources. Read more.
State Rundown 1/28: State Tax Cutting Plans Face Scrutiny
• By ITEP Staff
As state legislative sessions ramp up across the country, property taxes are one of many issues dominating tax policy conversations in statehouses.
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center: Proposed Income Tax Cuts in Massachusetts Would Benefit Households with Highest Incomes and Force Deep Public Cuts
• By ITEP Staff
The proposed ballot question to cut the Massachusetts state income tax would not just force deep cuts to investment in public programs and infrastructure. Its benefits are also highly skewed towards households with the highest incomes. Read more.
States Can Push Back Against Reckless Federal Tax Policy. Here’s How.
• By Aidan Davis, Wesley Tharpe
They should take steps to protect and boost their own revenues. And they should take a second look at their own tax cuts.
Local Governments Are Increasingly Strapped: 2026 Will Bring New Challenges and New Opportunities
• By Kamolika Das
2025 saw an intensification of state and local tax fights across the country, as well as growing experimentation with local-option taxes, levies, fees, and tourism taxes aimed at keeping budgets afloat while also navigating political constraints imposed by state legislatures.
Texas Property Tax Plan Mimics California’s Damaging Prop 13
• By Neva Butkus, Rita Jefferson
This proposal would disrupt the state’s housing market and jeopardize local revenues while doing very little to help workers and families struggling to pay their property tax bills – just as Prop 13 did in California.
State Tax Dollars Shouldn’t Subsidize Federal Opportunity Zones
• By Eli Byerly-Duke
The Opportunity Zones program benefits wealthy investors more than it benefits disadvantaged communities.
The Wealth Proceeds Tax: A Simple Way for States to Tax the Wealthy
• By Sarah Austin, Carl Davis
Taxing the proceeds generated by wealth through a new Wealth Proceeds Tax is a simple way for states to raise billions in new revenue and improve the fairness of their tax systems.
The Potential of Local Child Tax Credits to Reduce Child Poverty
• By Kamolika Das, Aidan Davis, Galen Hendricks, Rita Jefferson
Local governments have a critical role to play in reducing child poverty. Local Child Tax Credits could provide large tax cuts to families at the bottom of the income scale, lessening the overall regressivity of state and local tax systems.
State Rundown 10/1: State and Local Governments Doing the Opposite of Shutting Down
• By ITEP Staff
State and local officials are staying very busy by considering a dizzying amount of reversals.
State Rundown 9/18: Lawmakers Confront Revenue Loss from Federal Policy Changes
• By ITEP Staff
Some states are trying to avoid revenue loss while others are welcoming it and doubling down.
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