On December 4th, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation (MTF), along with the Department of Revenue (DOR) and other economic experts participated in the annual Consensus Revenue Hearing. The hearing offers administration and legislative budget leaders an opportunity to reassess revenue assumptions for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 and evaluate the resources that will be available to support budgeted spending in FY 2025. This brief uses the Consensus Revenue Hearing as the backdrop to examine both of these issues.

To place the testimony provided at the Consensus Revenue Hearing in context, this brief begins with a review of FY 2024 tax revenue trends to date. It then provides an overview of the testimony offered at the hearing for FY 2024 and FY 2025; highlighting key themes, commonalities, and differences. The brief concludes with an assessment of the challenges and opportunities facing administrative and legislative budget writers heading into the second half of FY 2024 and the FY 2025 budget development process.