As Massachusetts lawmakers look for ways to close a $3.6 billion tax revenue gap in the FY21 operating budget, there is a simple idea that could help the state receive sales tax payments more quickly and provide about $267 million of additional revenue in the year it is implemented. The proposal is…

The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation estimated sales tax revenues will drop $1.5 billion due to closures in public life and loss of personal income as a result of widespread layoffs and furloughs.

The Foundation’s comprehensive 50-state analysis shows that the recently enacted software services tax is the most burdensome in the nation. The Excel file allows users to compare Massachusetts to 49 other states on the tax treatment of 11 different categories of computer and software services.

The Foundation's latest commentary on the software services tax.

This is the most sweeping such tax in the nation. It strikes at the heart of the state’s innovation economy and will stifle job creation for years to come.

The Governor’s proposed sales tax on computer and data processing and custom software would have very serious ramifications for major sectors of the state’s economy.

In order to try to minimize the enormous consequences of Question 3, the proponents argue incorrectly that total state spending is $52 billion when the correct number is approximately $32 billion, as shown on page 137 of the 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.

Voter approval of Question 3 would result in across-the-board cuts of approximately 30 percent in virtually all state programs, including local aid, higher education, human services, prisons, courts, environmental protection, and state parks and beaches, according to a report released today by the…

The Foundation addresses several questions about an increase in the state's sales tax including how much would be raised, what it will cost the average taxpayer and how Massachusetts compares with other states.