The next major step in the FY 2024 budget development process began today with the release of the House Committee on Ways and Mean’s (HWM) budget proposal. Coming just six weeks after Governor Healey filed her administration’s inaugural budget, the $54.8 billion HWM spending plan makes significant…

In January, budget-writers upgraded the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 tax revenue benchmark by just over $150 million, from $39.618 billion to $39.768 billion. Tax collections for the month of March (announced on April 5th) are the first collections to be compared to the new, upgraded, FY 2023 benchmarks.…

Gov. Maura Healey signed a supplemental budget for fiscal year 2023 Tuesday, just a few weeks after announcing her FY-2024 budget. As Doug Howgate of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation explains, this is normal and is essentially a way for the state to pay their bills. “The supplemental budget…

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget development process is well underway, but with about 4 months remaining in FY 2023 this brief takes a fresh look at the state’s current fiscal picture. Based on current spending and revenue collections to date, the fiscal year appears in balance with an estimated…

Since December of 2021, the state has appropriated close to $8 billion in combined federal Fiscal Recovery Funds (FRF) and Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 and 2022 surplus resources to support a range of COVID recovery and economic development initiatives. Significant resources still remain, but tracking the…

Low wages for educators in the field have left many centers without adequate professional support. In turn, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, the lack of qualified workers in areas of child care has cost Massachusetts families nearly $1.7 billion a year in lost wages.  

Low wages for educators in the field have left many centers without adequate professional support. In turn, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, the lack of qualified workers in areas of child care has cost Massachusetts families nearly $1.7 billion a year in lost wages.

“We need to be thinking critically about the things that the state should be doing — but also very mindful that there is a state-federal partnership,” said Doug Howgate, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a business-backed budget watchdog. “It’s not feasible for us to say, ‘We’re…

The Healey-Driscoll administration has released its inaugural budget, 8 weeks after being sworn into office. The $54.8 billion spending plan builds in ongoing tax relief, while making major new investments in several critical areas, and continues to build long-term reserves. It includes $1 billion…

Doug Howgate, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said Healey’s budget shows the state remains in a strong financial condition, giving the administration high marks for its tax relief plan, early education investments and what he called a “transparent approach to tracking and using…