Public Finance

Eileen McAnneny, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation and co-chair of the income tax subcommittee within a Senate Revenue Working Group charged with revamping the state’s tax code, said that members have discussed ways to ensure maximum adherence to existing laws.

Wednesday's session did not unfold without tension. Rep. Maria Robinson filed an amendment that would have stripped a section of the bill that decouples Massachusetts from the federal tax code, citing a Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation analysis that the change could cause the state to forego up to $37 million in fiscal year 2020 revenue by allowing corporations to continue deducting interest.

Eileen McAnneny, president of the business-backed Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, says it’s not really surprising that employers are worrying more about the end to a decade-plus of economic expansion. But there are mixed signals, still: She points to the latest jobs numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that show the country’s unemployment rate fell to its lowest point in 50 years.