Despite a decade of progress, high business costs in key areas continue to hold back the Massachusetts economy, and more must be done to make the Commonwealth competitive. That is the conclusion of the latest update in MTF's series comparing business...

In its annual analysis of state spending, the Taxpayers Foundation calls on state leaders to develop a fiscal blueprint for 2004 and 2005 to address the Commonwealth's massive and growing structural deficit. The report recommends that legislative...

MTF calls on state policy makers to take advantage of the need for extraordinary solutions to the fiscal crisis and seize the best opportunity in years to undertake important reforms of state government. The bulletin highlights a number of issues...

Because of the continuing weakness of the state and national economy -- and the uncertainty about future economic growth -- state tax revenues will fall short in fiscal 2003 and grow at an anemic pace in 2004, according to a forecast presented by MTF...

In the 32nd edition of its annual summary of trends in local revenue, spending and property taxes, the Foundation concludes that municipal finances have entered a new and much more difficult phase. While overall performance remained healthy in 2002,...

MTF and three other business organizations have joined together to defeat Question 1, the Libertarian Party's reckless proposal to abolish the state income tax. If adopted, this extreme measure would throw the finances of state and local governments...

In a new analysis, the Foundation credits the state's leaders for their efforts to address the Commonwealth's fiscal crisis through a realistic combination of spending cuts and tax increases in 2003. However, MTF warns that a remaining large...

As a result of recent tax revenue shortfalls, the House and Senate versions of the state budget for fiscal 2003 are at least $650 million out of balance. With more than $1 billion of additional tax revenues already included in the legislative budgets...

As the state struggles with a more than $2 billion budget gap in fiscal 2003, its leaders have an opportunity -- and a responsibility -- to correct spending abuses and eliminate inefficiencies that have been tolerated in the recent good times,...

While the state's leaders have agreed on a plan to fill the huge revenue shortfall in 2002, even larger deficits in 2003 and beyond remain unaddressed. Almost $1.3 billion will be drawn from reserves in 2002, and another $134 million of "savings"...