Withholding taxes – tax payments automatically deducted from paychecks and unemployment insurance benefits and paid directly to the government – were $80 million above year-ago levels. Baker said the regular unemployment insurance benefit plus the extra $600 payment from the federal government kept…

Eileen McAnneny, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said the July numbers were perplexing. She said it was hard to understand how tax withholding – the amount withheld from worker paychecks and paid directly to the government in taxes – could be up $80 million compared to July…

Tax revenues will grow much more slowly in 2007 and 2008 than they did the past two years, according to a forecast released today by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

Because of the continuing weakness of the state and national economy -- and the uncertainty about future economic growth -- state tax revenues will fall short in fiscal 2003 and grow at an anemic pace in 2004, according to a forecast presented by MTF to members of the House and Senate Ways and…