By Erin Tiernan — with help from Keith Regan

A 6-month-old millionaire tax in Massachusetts is already up for a change

Read today's edition in your browser

-ADVERTISEMENT-

Our team is building Vineyard Wind, the first commercial-scale wind project in the U.S. Together with our state and local partners, we are creating good-paying jobs and helping Massachusetts reach its climate goals. We believe the future of offshore wind is right here in Massachusetts. And we’re working every day to make that future a reality.

Today's News

There’s a $600 million-dollar question confronting lawmakers tasked with hashing out differences in House and Senate versions of tax reform: Should the state crack down on married couples filing taxes separately to skirt the state’s new millionaire tax?

The state’s 6-month-old millionaire tax is expected to bring about $1 billion in new revenues for transportation and education spending this year, but the left-leaning Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center has estimated Massachusetts is leaving $200 million to $600 million on the table each year from married couples filing two single tax returns, each reporting less than $1 million in income, rather than a joint return that triggers the surtax.

Tucked inside the Senate’s plan for relief is a policy proposal that would change that. It would require married couples filing taxes jointly at the federal level to also file jointly at the state level. 

Progressives in support of the change have downplayed the switch as a “technical fix” to “close a loophole.” But fiscal watchdogs are calling it a bit of a bait-and-switch. Elizabeth Mahoney, vice president of policy and government affairs for the Massachusetts High Technology Council pointed out that the language used by millionaire-tax proponents Raise Up Massachusetts and the Fair Share Coalition in promoting the policy last year frequently referred to the surtax’s applying to “individuals” making more than $1 million a year – not couples, households or families.

“This proposal is actually a significant policy change that contradicts all of the assurances made to the voters by the proponents of the new income surtax that it would only apply to individuals earning more than $1 million,” Mahoney told MASSterList.

Cindy Rowe, of the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action and a member of Raise Up's steering committee, said the current policy “creates an incentive for shifting of income between members of a married couple in an attempt to game the system.”

The text of the amendment voters approved in November called for "an additional tax of 4 percent on that portion of annual taxable income in excess of $1,000,000 (one million dollars) reported on any return related to those taxes."

Conference committee representatives have asked the Healey administration for more information about how the joint-filer language would impact the overall tax relief package

Families or individuals? Fair Share Massachusetts on its website pushing the ballot question behind the surtax wrote: “Only the wealthiest Massachusetts residents — individuals who earn MORE THAN $1 million per year—will pay more: just 4% on the part of their annual income that is ABOVE $1 million.”

A MASSterList review of campaign materials found most advertising referenced “a person’s annual income” and “those who earn more than a million dollars in a single year.”

A paid ad told voters, “Anyone who makes less than $1 million a year doesn’t pay an extra cent.”

Send tips to Erin Tiernan Editor@MASSterList.com. For advertising and general inquiries, contact Dylan Rossiter: Publisher@MASSterList.com. Click here to post a job on the MASSterList Job Board. Follow @MASSterList on Twitter. Did someone send you this edition? Subscribe here!

-ADVERTISEMENT-

PowerOptions reduces the cost, carbon, and complexity of energy for nonprofits and the public sector. With 495 Members, we have the market strength to negotiate lower prices and the demand to drive innovation and solutions. Our team helps organizations plan, implement, and measure sustainable efforts, and we provide affordable electricity and natural gas during the transition. What can we do for you?

9 a.m. | Gov. Maura Healey continues her Ireland visit with a stacked day of climate and political events and will sit on a "Homecoming: JFK In Ireland" panel on the 60-year anniversary of President Kennedy's trip to the country. | EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, the chq Building , Custom House Quay, Dublin 1 | More Info

9 a.m. | Seven digital health companies that are addressing healthy aging will compete for $200,000 in prizes as part of a competition hosted by MeHI, the Mass. eHealth Institute at MassTech. | The Engine, 750 Main Street Cambridge

9:30 a.m. | Press conference on the closure of the Sumner Tunnel from July 5 through Aug. 31. | Wonderland MBTA Station, 1300 North Shore Road, Revere

10 a.m. | Acting Gov. Kim Driscoll tours Pryde LGBTQ Senior Housing. | The Pryde, 15 Everett St., Hyde Park

1 p.m. | Ribbon-cutting event marking the opening of the GLX Community Path, which opened to the public on June 10. | Visiting Nurse Association of Eastern Massachusetts, 259 Lowell Street, Somerville

Recent MASSterList Job Board postings

Director of Human Resources and Recruitment — NEW!, Office of the Inspector General

Director of Administration and Finance — NEW!, Office of the Inspector General

Senior Public Participation Coordinator, Regina Villa Associates

Assistant Town Planner, Town of Littleton

Policy Analyst, A10 Associates

[Jobs continued after Today's Headlines]

Short-circuit: Electrical issue likely led to Red Line death of passenger stuck in door

A report by federal transportation regulators concluded that a short circuit on a Red Line train was likely to blame for the April 2022 death of Robinson Lalin, who was caught in a door and dragged to his death when trying to exit the train at Broadway Station, reports Bruce Mohl for Commonwealth Magazine. An NTSB report issued on Tuesday also found that the train operator did not comply with all procedures before pulling away from the station, but said the primary cause was a series of wire strands in the lead subway car that touched a mounting screw, completing a short circuit.

Commonwealth Magazine | State House News Service

Jammed: Stuck doors delay Orange Line commute, too

Universal Hub reports the MBTA’s door problems are becoming a “royal pain” after the Tuesday-morning commute included 15-minute delays on the Orange Line when one of those brand new trains suffered another embarrassing "door issue” — this time at Green Street.

Universal Hub

State auditor needs broader leeway to investigate MBTA, she says

Auditor Diana DiZoglio is looking for legislative approval that would allow her to regularly audit the MBTA with more frequency. DiZoglio has cited "profound concerns" over a spate of safety issues, including an Orange Line train catching on fire last year and a Red Line passenger being dragged to his death, reports Alison Kuznitz for State House News Service. Bills that DiZoglio filed with Rep. Christopher Worrell and Sen. Liz Miranda (H 3132 / S 2032) would allow the auditor's office to conduct audits of the MBTA once every two years and "as often as the state auditor determines is necessary." 

State House News Service

Healey reflects on Irish roots in address to Ireland’s Senate

Gov. Maura Healey was recognized as a "hero and a trailblazer" to Ireland, on her first foreign trip in her new role during her emotional address before the Irish Senate. Irish lawmakers welcomed Healey as "a person of firsts," as the first woman elected governor of Massachusetts, the first member of the LGBTQI+ community elected as governor, and the first governor of Massachusetts to address the Irish Senate. Healey is in Ireland through Friday.

State House News Service | GBH

Prisoners testify live at moratorium hearing

A group of 20 women from MCI Framingham testified in a live Zoom hearing for the first time in legislative history this week, reports Sarah Betancourt for GBH. They spoke in favor of a prison moratorium bill that would put a five-year pause on building new prisons and renovating those currently in operation.

GBH

Progressives urge lawmakers to reject tax cuts for wealthy

Activists with left-leaning Raise Up Massachusetts are pressing lawmakers to drop relief for the state's wealthiest residents from a tax-cut package being negotiated in a conference committee, wrote Christian Wade for The Eagle Tribune. In a Tuesday rally, labor leaders and social justice groups said they should drop a proposal to cut the state's capital gains tax from 12% to 5% and scale back relief from the estate or “death” tax, among other demands.

The Eagle Tribune

Pride: A look at same-sex couples in Massachusetts

A two-reporter team at The Boston Globe takes a dive into the state of same-sex couples in Massachusetts in honor of Pride Month. According to data released last month by the US Census Bureau, 33,488, or 1.2 percent, of the state’s 2.7 million households were same-sex couple households. That’s higher than the national average of 0.9 percent.

The Boston Globe

Former DCF social workers charged with posing as Boston high school student

A 32-year-old woman and former social worker for the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families faces criminal charges after allegedly posing as a student in three Boston schools, reports WCVB’s Karen Anderson. A criminal complaint issued Tuesday states Shelby Hewitt is facing two felony counts of forging documents and five other charges related to the scheme.

WCVB

Professional Service Directory

Want your business featured here? Contact Publisher@MASSterList.com to learn more.

Forty is enough: Cambridge school board to lose longest-serving member 

Cambridge School Committee Fred Fantini says he will not seek another term and will retire in January after winning 20 elections and serving four decades on the board, enough to make him the longest-serving member in the board’s history, Marc Levy of Cambridge Day reports.

Cambridge Day

Contractor says worker hung Confederate flag spotted in Fitchburg 

The owner of a Connecticut-based contractor is apologizing after a Confederate flag was spotted mounted on one of his company’s trucks while on a MassDOT project along Route 2 in Fitchburg. William Garrity says a worker on one of his paving crews found the flag on the ground and hung it on a company truck without considering the implications. Although bills banning the flag in the Bay State have never passed, MassDOT says its regulations prohibit displaying the symbol. 

MassLive | Telegram & Gazette

Teachers and schools on Nantucket seek mediation over contract standoff 

The Nantucket school district and the local teachers union have jointly asked the state to mediate a 9-month long contract impasse, a move that reveals that teachers are seeking larger raises after agreeing to more modest pay hikes in a deal done during the pandemic.

Nantucket Current | The Inquirer and Mirror

Pittsfield budget closeout pushed to brink amid chaos at council 

The Pittsfield City Council will hold a special meeting on Friday–the last day of the current fiscal year–in the hopes of reconciling the city’s books after a single councilor objected to payments sought to cover shortfalls in some budget lines. The Berkshire Eagle’s Meg Britton-Mehlisch reports Councilor Charles Kronick says Mayor Linda Tyer should have planned better and bears the blame for the last-minute scramble.

The Berkshire Eagle

Today's Headlines

The NAACP convention is back, bringing economic opportunity and a chance to boost Boston's image

Cape Cod company continues to help Oceangate’s Titan recovery mission

McGovern backs constitutional amendment to strip big money from elections

'We've been draining cash': Profits weren't taking off at New Bedford's Airport Grille

Fall River buys the farm: Why the city is preserving historic acreage for a nature center

Elizabeth Warren to Janet Yellen: You’re wrong on bank mergers

DeSantis’s Pitch to New Hampshire Is All About a State 1,000 Miles South

Job Board

Reach MASSterList and the State House News Service’s connected audience in the political and public policy worlds in Massachusetts with your job postings. Click here to post a job. Need help? Contact Dylan Rossiter: Publisher@MASSterList.com

Government Grants Manager, Community Servings

Deputy Communications Director, Office of the State Treasurer and Receiver General

Policy Analyst, A10 Associates

Government Grants Manager, Community Servings

Deputy Communications Director, Office of the State Treasurer and Receiver General

Counsel II, Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications & Cable

Program Associate, Office of the State Treasurer and Receiver General

Director of Accounting, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute

Director of Policy and Communications, Children’s HealthWatch

Community Engagement Coordinator (Springfield Regional Office), Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General

Assistant Director of Parks and Open Space, City of Newton

MA-TF1 Program Manager, City of Beverly

Policy and Planning Associate, Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges

Assistant Executive Director, Town of Wellesley

Sustainability & Grants Manager, City of Malden

Manager, Public Policy, Association for Behavioral Healthcare

Urban Agriculture Outreach Specialist - New Hampshire, American Farmland Trust

Manager of MPO Activities, Boston Region MPO

Director of People & Operational Development, Build Health International

Paralegal, Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General

HR Generalist, City of Newton

Director of Climate Action & Project Administration, City of Northampton

Director of Public Policy, Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association

Executive Director, Pakachoag Music School

Managing Administrative Assistant (Criminal Bureau), Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General

Preservation Planner, Town of Wellesley

Health Systems Capacity Development Manager, Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Municipal Associate, Miyares and Harrington LLP

Grants Director, Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation

Operations Manager, Massachusetts Democratic Party

Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General

Senior Vice President is the Chief Financial Officer, WORK Inc

Legislative and Budget Director, Office of State Senator Cindy F. Friedman

Deputy Press Secretary, Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General

Director of Development, MassINC

General Counsel, Cannabis Control Commission

Manager of Policy and Planning, The 495/MetroWest Partnership

Division Chief, Non-Profit Organizations/Public Charities, Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General

Tenant Organizer/ Civic Engagement Team Coordinator, Mass Alliance of HUD Tenants

Investigator (Boston & Springfield Locations), Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General

Director of Public Health, City of Lynn

Parking Director, City of Lynn

Director of Leased Housing, Metro Housing Boston

Deputy Commissioner Administration, Finance, and Operations, Massachusetts Department of Higher Education

Director of Economic Development, Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations

Send tips to Erin Tiernan Editor@MASSterList.com. For advertising and general inquiries, contact Dylan Rossiter: Publisher@MASSterList.com. Click here to post a job on the MASSterList Job Board. Follow @MASSterList on Twitter.