On behalf of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, NAIOP Massachusetts, and the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, we write regarding H.4942, An Act relative to property tax classification in the city of Boston.Our organizations want to extend our gratitude…

Join us for a presentation by MTF President Doug Howgate and Research Director Meaghan Callahan. The briefing will include an update on the FY 2024 closeout supplemental budget and the state of the budget balance, as well as a discussion of some of the significant factors that will continue to…

On September 11th, Governor Healey filed her administration’s closeout supplemental budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024; roughly two months after the official last day of the fiscal year. A closeout supplemental budget is filed and passed each year; its purpose being to resolve all outstanding…

On July 29th, Governor Healey signed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget; sending back $316.8 million in gross spending vetoes ($248 million net). Inclusive of the Governor’s cuts, line-item spending in the FY 2025 budget would total $57.78 billion, a $1.7 billion (3.1 percent) increase over the FY…

The House and Senate are set to enact a Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget, totaling $58.1 billion in line-item spending.  It includes $27.5 million more in spending than the House and $16.5 million more than the Senate budget; and total spending exceeds the FY 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA)…

Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 begins on July 1st, and House and Senate budget negotiators are actively engaging in conversations to craft a compromise budget proposal. The Conference Committee process involves reconciling countless spending, policy, and technical differences between the two bills; and this…

The Senate finalized its $58 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget this week after adding $89.6 million in spending over the course of three days of debate. The Senate took action on 1,100 amendments through a combination of standalone votes and amendment ‘bundles,’ which categorically approve…

5 Things to Know About the FY 2025 Senate Amendments1. Senate members filed 1,100 amendments, 51 more than in FY 2024 and 78 fewer than in FY 2023.2. The fiscal impact of all amendments is $2.9 billion.3. An estimated 58% (636) of the amendments are earmarks. 4. Approximately 42% (464) of the…

Today, the Senate Committee on Ways and Means (SWM) released its budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. The $57.99 billion spending plan includes notable investments in higher education, early education, and mental and behavioral health; increasing spending over the FY 2024 General…

The wide swing indicates the state is still navigating an atypical time, particularly with collections in some areas, such as sales tax revenue, still falling below expectations, said Doug Howgate, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a business-backed budget watchdog group.“You don…