Please join us for our first virtual policy call of the New Year! Doug Howgate will provide a timely and comprehensive presentation on Governor Baker’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget proposal and answer any questions you may have with respect to it.  You’ll also receive a brief preview of the fiscal…

Governor Baker’s Budget – Five Things to Know Among the many elements in Governor Baker’s budget, several proposals and assumptions stand out as being particularly notable.  Each of these items will play a significant role in the budget process in the months ahead.   The Governor’s…

Budget leaders from the House, Senate, and Administration have agreed on $36.9 billion as the consensus tax revenue figure for the fiscal year 2023 budget. Budget makers expect tax revenues to grow by $967 million (2.7 percent) over estimated FY 2022 collections of $35.95 billion. FY 2022 tax…

According to an analysis by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, much of the spending will be for healthcare at $946 million, housing at $624 million, infrastructure at $414 million, education at $389 million and economic development at $267 million. An additional $500 million was pumped into…

Massachusetts experienced a startling $4.5 billion surge in tax revenues in FY 2021 representing 15 percent growth in the midst of the pandemic. MTF projects that FY 2022 revenue growth will remain strong, reaching $37.2 billion or $2.9 billion above the current benchmark. What makes this even more…

“The net difference between where we thought we were going to be and where we are is literally billions of dollars,” said Doug Howgate, executive vice president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. Howgate said early in the pandemic, policymakers were looking back at the 2008 recession…

Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation executive vice president Doug Howgate said the number of earmarks in this item is not normal, but also not unheard of, especially in an arts, culture and tourism-related item. Earmarked items had been kept separately in the House and Senate version of the ARPA…

The spending itself is mostly concentrated on health care ($964 million), housing ($624 million), infrastructure ($414 million), education ($389 million) and economic development ($267 million), as well as on specific workforce issues ($500 million allotments for both premium pay awards and the…

The bill the Legislature sent Baker was packed with earmarks — 843 in total, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, a business-backed budget watchdog. They funded everything from $500,000 for a rail trail in Lawrence to $300,000 for construction of a museum in Worcester to honor…

The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation said the most notable difference between the House and Senate versions of the ARPA spending proposal was the proposed timeline and process for providing premium pay to essential workers. “Like the Senate version, the final language creates a Premium Pay…