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Good Monday morning,
Attorney General Maura Healey has been a consistent supporter of Question 1 to add a surtax on income over $1 million, but in an interview Sunday she also put a marker down on how she believes the new revenue should be spent if the measure passes.
Not only did Healey, the Democratic nominee for governor, say it's clear the money should be spent on education and infrastructure, but she said the spending should come on top of what's already being used to support schools, roads and bridges.
"In addition, that's right," Healey said during an appearance on WCVB's "On the Record" in a warm up for her first debate against Republican gubernatorial hopeful Geoff Diehl on Wednesday night.
The comment is one that could be looked back upon in a couple years (assuming she's governor and Q1 is the law) when the next governor and Legislature start working together to decide where to direct money from the 4 percent surtax, which has been estimated to be worth anywhere from $1.3 billion to $2 billion annually. The new tax, if approved, would only start to apply on income earned in tax year 2023, so it wouldn't factor heavily into Healey's first state budget proposal.
But some Democratic leaders recently have hedged on how the money would be spent. House Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz, for instance, raised the specter in an interview with the Globe that in lean years money may need to be moved around to plug other holes in the budget.
Healey also discussed the recent deposit of migrants from Venezuela on Martha Vineyard, calling it a "political stunt" by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is a ploy to gain attention and dollars for a possible presidential bid.
While Healey said she was "heartened" by the response of the Vineyard and Gov. Charlie Baker's administration to welcome and support the migrants, she stopped short of saying whether Massachusetts should encourage other border-crossers to make the state their home.
"What I really encourage and what this points to is the need for comprehensive national immigration reform. Congress needs to act," Healey said.
Healey, in fact, gave credit to Baker numerous times throughout the interview, which is something his own Republican party and candidate for governor has been loath to do. She applauded his work on climate change, and called on the Legislature to pass the package of tax reforms initially put forward by Baker as soon as possible.
The Democrat mentioned reforms to the estate tax and tax breaks for renters, but did not say whether she would support spending an additional $500 million in refunds on top of the nearly $3 billion to be returned under the 1986 revenue cap law.
She also declined to say whether after this year the tax cap law, known as 62F, should be scrapped or amended, as some lawmakers have called for changes to deliver greater relief to taxpayers on the lower end of the income bracket.
"I'm not sure about that. Ultimately, it will be up to the Legislature to decide," Healey said.
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