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MA Economic Plans on Hold Due to Beacon Hill Dispute
Nearly three months into the new fiscal year, about one quarter of the state’s planned capital spending for economic development is tied up in an ongoing dispute among top House and Senate Democrats. Gov. Healey’s capital plan for fiscal 2025, which began July 1, calls for $269 million in economic development spending, a 13% increase over fiscal 2024, but much of that spending requires passage of authorizations in the competing bills, according to the MA Taxpayers Foundation, a business-backed group that is trying to turn up the pressure on Beacon Hill. Read More
Judge Partially Blocks DOT's DBE Program
A federal judge has blocked a key component of the U.S. DOT’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program in a move that could have widespread implications for workforce participation goals in federal contracts. A limited preliminary injunction has been granted against the DOT’s DBE program, which sets goals that at least 10% of dollars in federal contracts be awarded to women- and minority-owned firms, which are presumed to be disadvantaged under the program. Read More
Boston Proposes "Early No" for Flawed Developments
Development proposals with serious flaws would receive early notification from Boston officials under proposed changes to the Article 80 zoning code. In the biggest changes to development reviews since the 1990s, the Article 80 modernization proposal includes a new three-step process designed to weed out proposals that don’t meet the city’s goals. Read More
MA Relaunches Anti-Fraud, Employee Misclassification Council
The state has announced the relaunch of a council focused on stamping out employer fraud and employment misclassification. The so-called Council on the Underground Economy, under the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, will educate employers in the areas of wages, payroll and other requirements. The effort is meant to combat the "underground economy" — the concealing or misrepresentation of employees to avoid employer responsibilities related to wages, payroll taxes, insurance or other regulatory requirements, according to its organizers. Read More
Congress Takes Aim at the Employee Retention Credit
U.S. Senators Mitt Romney, Thom Tillis, and Joe Manchin introduced the Employee Retention Tax Credit Repeal Act, which would end the credit for any claims submitted after Jan. 31, 2024, which, they say, would help save about $79 billion over 10 years. The senators cited estimates that say the credit has already cost about $230 billion and could eventually cost up to $550 billion, with the IRS showing between 10% and 20% of claims are “erroneous” and up to 70% have an unacceptable risk of fraud. The repeal effort comes after the IRS ended its monthlong moratorium on processing new claims and investigating fraud. It has begun processing as estimated 50,000 valid claims, with more to come later this year. Read More
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