Public Finance

The fiscal 2019 state budget bill on Gov. Charlie Baker's desk counts on $63 million in legal marijuana taxes, a total the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation says is unlikely to materialize. The foundation last week wrote in its analysis of the state budget bill that the marijuana licensing process "has proceeded more slowly than anticipated."

But the president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, Eileen McAnneny, is concerned there will no longer be a routine review of spending on police training. "There's less accountability," she says. "It doesn't go through the annual budgeting process where lawmakers make a conscious choice to continue to fund it."

"I think a sizable portion of it is due to federal tax reform, either directly or indirectly," said Eileen McAnneny, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. McAnneny added that the economy is also doing well, although only time will tell how much of revenue is attributable to sustained economic growth rather than one-time money from the tax reform.