"Having a way to make sure we are reassessing elements of our tax code is always a good idea," said Doug Howgate, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "In some cases it makes sense to have a sunset date. The state can say let's try this for a few years, and see if it does what we want it to do."

But statutory sunset dates can also create challenges, he said, particularly when individuals or businesses are counting on tax expenditures to plan and make long-term decisions about investments.

"Having some degree of certainty is also important," Howgate said. "It really depends on what kind of tax expenditures you're talking about."