This preliminary report addresses some of the economic impacts from the most recent data and explores issues that will shape the scale and duration of this global pandemic. While this report is focused primarily on the national economic impacts, Massachusetts-specific information is included when…

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, Senate President Karen Spilka, and Speaker Robert DeLeo announced the corresponding change for the state tax filing deadline on March 27, 2020.The policy change impacts the Commonwealth of Massachusetts very differently than the federal government and will…

BOSTON – On March 10, 2020, Governor Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts regarding the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and has ordered sweeping measures to slow the outbreak.

The margin for error already seemed slim: The business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation issued a report on Wednesday highlighting several uncertain aspects of Governor Charlie Baker’s spending plan for the next fiscal year. MTF said Baker’s plans to accelerate sales tax collections ($237…

This analysis describes the steps taken by the governor to balance the budget compared to MTF’s initial projection of an $880 million gap between revenue and spending in fiscal 2021. It also describes ten tough choices confronting legislators as they develop a budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

While MTF generally believes there are several infirmities with the current proposal to tax GILTI revenue, trying to use this revenue to finance transportation is especially ill-suited because the revenue is uncertain, will be difficult to collect in the short-term and is harder to leverage for…

Governor Charlie Baker published his budget recommendation for state fiscal year 2021 on January 22, 2020. The plan, also known as House 2 (H.2), is the sixth budget proposal developed by Gov. Baker and the second since his re-election in November 2018. This policy brief summarizes some of the…

“We’re talking about big increases and every year and the cost is expected to go up almost 10% a year,” said Heath Fahle, policy director for the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. “Health care, local aid, public safety, MBTA and road projects all get squeezed a little by these rapidly growing…

After two consecutive fiscal years of above-trend tax growth and manageable spending increases, an initial analysis of the state’s finances suggests policymakers will face tough choices as they begin budget development for state fiscal year 2021. A model of the fiscal 2020-2021 budget developed by…

The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation on Wednesday predicted the upcoming budget cycle will differ significantly from the last two, during which tax receipts shattered projections and enabled the state to bulk up its cash reserves, pass one-time investments, and push the state budget up to $43.3…