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Post Office Box 1147 ●
Marblehead, Massachusetts 01945 ●
(781) 639-9709
“Every Tax is a Pay Cut ... A Tax Cut is a Pay Raise”
45 years as “The Voice of Massachusetts Taxpayers”
— and
their Institutional Memory — |
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CLT UPDATE
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Taxes
pulled from House budget debate
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Closing their first day of fiscal 2020
budget deliberations, House lawmakers voted unanimously
Monday night to add $9.25 million in spending on education
and local aid to their version of next year's spending plan,
which began the week with a $42.7 billion bottom line.
The so-called consolidated amendment,
prepared by the House Ways and Means Committee, allowed
representatives to dispense with nearly 200 individually
filed amendments on related topics with a single vote,
though only some of them are added into the budget.
Education Committee Chair Alice Peisch said
the amendment included "significant additions" for libraries
and recovery high schools, along with boosting funding for
after-school and out-of-school time grants.
Ways and Means on Monday kicked off the
process of assembling two other consolidated amendments,
holding one backroom meeting with lawmakers on energy and
environmental affairs proposals and another on amendments
dealing with social services and veterans. Another meeting
in the private members' lounge, on the topics of health and
human services and elder affairs, is scheduled for 10 a.m.
Tuesday, when the House is also slated to return from
recess.
State House News Service
House Session - Monday, April 22, 2019
By Katie Lannan
As the Boston Bruins faced off in an
elimination playoff game, the House wrapped up its second
day of budget debate just after 8 p.m. following unanimous
votes to add $7.74 million in spending on energy and
environmental programs, $2.27 million for social services
and veterans affairs, and $8.06 million on elder affairs and
health and human services. The latter figure includes an
additional $5 million in funding for nursing homes on top of
the $30 million boost the Ways and Means Committee already
planned, an investment that Rep. Ruth Balser said will help
address an industry in "crisis."
Combining the three so-called consolidated
amendments approved Tuesday with the one already passed
Monday for education and local aid, House members have now
added more than $27 million in spending via amendments to
the $42.7 billion base version of the budget proposed by the
Ways and Means Committee. Another $67 million could be added
from remaining amendments without pushing the budget's
spending figures past its revenue projections.
Lawmakers will return Wednesday morning at
10 a.m., with plans to discuss amendments related to state
administration, constitutional officers and transportation
later that morning in a closed-door meeting.
State House News Service
House Session - Tuesday, April 23, 3018
By Katie Lannan
House members from both parties on Monday
folded their cards on revenue amendments, deferring to House
leaders and their call to debate revenues later this year
and not as part of the annual budget debate.
With little or no debate on revenue
amendments, representatives largely opted against forcing
debates and votes on revenue amendments, with that category
of amendments dispensed with by about 12:45 p.m., when the
House gave the budget bill (H 3800) a vote of initial
approval.
At the outset of the debate, Revenue
Committee Chairman Mark Cusack asked colleagues to give up
their revenue-related amendments and instead pursue those
goals through his committee following public hearings.
"We will have a full, robust and thoughtful
revenue debate in the coming months," Cusack said as he
suggested that this week is not the right time for
representatives to push their revenue ideas. "We are serious
about looking at revenue this session, but doing so in a
responsible way."
House Speaker Robert DeLeo, Ways and Means
Chairman Aaron Michlewitz and Cusack have previously said
they intend to discuss proposals to raise new revenue later
this session and not as part of the budget consideration.
Rep. Mike Connolly withdrew his amendment to
raise the rate at which capital gains are taxed, Rep. Marc
Lombardo withdrew his proposals to lower the sales and
income tax rates to 5 percent, Rep. David DeCoste withdrew
proposed changes to the Community Preservation Act funding
source and Rep. Angelo Scaccia withdrew his amendments
altering the film tax credit after debating the credit's
merits with Majority Leader Ron Mariano, a film tax credit
supporter.
Under an order the House adopted to lay the
ground rules for its budget debate, any amendment that would
raise or lower the revenue base of the budget plan could
only be debated before the bill (H 3800) was ordered to a
third reading. The House ordered the bill to third reading
at about 12:45 p.m.
State House News Service
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
House advances $42.7 billion state budget proposal
Amid a “booming” state economy, House
legislators tabled a slew of revenue proposals as they
gaveled open budget deliberations Monday.
“Obviously revenue is a major topic this
session as we look to increase our investment in education,
transportation and many other areas,” said Rep. Mark Cusack
(D- Braintree), House Chair of the Joint Committee on
Revenue. “We are serious about looking at revenue this
session, but doing so in a responsible way.”
House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Ways and
Means Committee Chairman Aaron Michlewitz told reporters
during a budget briefing earlier this month they intend to
discuss revenue proposals later this session....
The push for additional revenue comes as
Governor Charlie Baker described the economy as “booming” in
his inaugural address earlier this year and boasted that
more people are working in Massachusetts than in the state’s
history.
State revenues surged over predictions last
month, taking in $2.67 billion, $316 million above the
monthly benchmark and $427 million more than March of last
year, state records show.
“The reason why we are focused on raising
new revenue and asking the wealthiest to pay their fair
share is because of the tremendous needs we see relative to
education funding, investments in transportation,
homelessness and housing programs and all the vital services
that are important to our state’s most vulnerable
residents,” Rep. Mike Connolly told the Herald.
Connolly (D-Cambridge) withdrew an amendment
he proposed to raise the capital gains tax to 8.95 percent
from its current 5.05 percent. He has filed a matching bill
that will go before the Revenue Committee later this
session. The measure is estimated to generate about $1
billion in new revenue for the state each year.
The Boston Herald
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
House tables tax bills to open budget in ‘responsible way’
Budget amendments regarding opioid, e-cigarette taxes
withdrawn
Although her colleagues in the House have
outlined plans to take up a revenue debate later this year,
Senate President Karen Spilka said Tuesday she will work
with outside interest groups and members in both parties to
study the topic and produce legislation for the 2021-22
session.
Spilka on Tuesday unveiled the membership of
the Senate's new 21-member Revenue Working Group, announcing
at a press conference that the effort will require more than
a year of work to examine the state's tax code. Her goal is
to have a report completed by the July 2020 end of formal
sessions to inspire legislation for the next session,
although Spilka said that timeline could change.
Massachusetts has the "sorry distinction of
leading the nation in income inequality," Spilka said.
"It has been way too long since we have
given our Commonwealth's tax code a careful and
comprehensive look," the Ashland Democrat said. "So much has
changed in our economy, driven in large part by our
innovation infrastructure which has created an explosion of
new industries recently. However, we have been addressing
that explosion of the new industries on a piecemeal basis,
which only serves to breed confusion for businesses,
government and consumers alike."
The new working group does not preclude
senators from engaging with the House or taking up their own
revenue debates in the meantime.
"Clearly, there are some issues that will be
coming up, and we will take it on a case-by-case basis,"
Spilka said. "This (group) is looking at the tax code in a
real comprehensive, systematic manner that I don't think has
happened on a combination of the corporate level and
personal-income level in decades." ...
Although the House's fiscal year 2020 budget
does not pursue substantial new forms of revenue — most
amendments toward that goal were withdrawn before debate got
underway this week — Speaker Robert DeLeo hinted his members
will approach the topic "later this year."
Spilka acknowledged Tuesday that, if the
House does pursue new taxes or fees, the Senate will not sit
the matter out. Even the working group may get involved, she
said, if members choose to review and comment on revenue
proposals as they arise in the Legislature....
What exactly the group will recommend
remains unclear. Members come from a range of backgrounds,
including business organizations, labor unions and think
tanks. Their views on taxes are likely to be divergent, too.
State House News Service
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Senate revenue group stocked with interest group appointees
A Senate Revenue Working Group charged with
revamping the state’s tax code met for the first time
Tuesday to lay the groundwork for a goal to make legislative
recommendations by the end of the next session.
“In my opinion, it has been way too long
since we have given our commonwealth’s tax code a careful
and comprehensive look,” Senate President Karen Spilka said.
“We must be sure that we are not funding our future on the
backs of those that can least afford it.” ...
Sen. Adam Hinds (D-Pittsfield) will chair
the new group, which he said will meet regularly throughout
2019 to look at ways to “simplify” the tax code.
“Right now it is incredibly complicated and
often incoherent,” Hinds told reporters. “We’re, at base,
looking to ensure we have a modern tax system that is
efficient, simple, fair, that supports economic growth and
that provides the necessary revenue for critical government
investments.”
The Boston Herald
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Massachusetts Senate working group to weigh tax code
revisions
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Chip Ford's CLT
Commentary
Watching Beacon Hill sausage being made,
there's one piece of good news. The House has
stuck to Speaker DeLeo's intent to hold off on tax
increases, new taxes or fees –
at least for now. I appears certain though that
this won't last long, once the budget is completed.
The Bacon Hill thirst for more to squander remains
unquenchable.
But by excising any tax issue from the
budget debate – be it Rep.
Mike Connolly's capital gains tax hike or Rep. Marc
Lombardo's reductions of the income and sales taxes
– the House apparently has denied
the Senate any grounds to deem the House budget a "money
bill," opening the tax floodgate when the Senate debates
its own budget.
At least if there
is going to be another assault on taxpayers it'll be out
in the open, will succeed or fail on its merits and
level of opposition – not be shackled to a
take-it-or-leave-it, all-or-none binary choice budget
bill. House and Senate budgets inevitably end up
in a House/Senate conference committee for compromise.
This should avoid a classic Bacon Hill compromise on
taxes within the budget in the end.
In the CLT Update
of July 18, 2018 ("Legislature
passes record $41.9 Billion budget, 'Community Benefit
Districts' law") I defined what passes for
"compromise" in the Legislature:
When the
Legislature works late (usually in the last few
cram-days of a legislative session)
–
CLT must work even later to get out what
just happened to you.
The
House/Senate conference committee has
historically outdone itself in its Fiscal Year
2019 compromise. In the spring the House passed
its version of the FY2019 budget: $41.065
billion.
A month
later the Senate passed its own version: $41.49
billion.
The
compromise between the two: "Nearly $400 million
more than what either branch approved."
On Bacon
Hill that's called "compromise"!
Hmmm, "CLT must
work even later to get out what just happened to
you." Some things just never change.
Stay tuned – Day
Three of the FY 2020 House budget debate will soon
commence.
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Chip Ford
Executive Director |
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State House News
Service
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
House advances $42.7 billion state budget
proposal
By Colin A. Young
House members from both parties on Monday folded
their cards on revenue amendments, deferring to
House leaders and their call to debate revenues
later this year and not as part of the annual
budget debate.
With little or no debate on revenue amendments,
representatives largely opted against forcing
debates and votes on revenue amendments, with
that category of amendments dispensed with by
about 12:45 p.m., when the House gave the budget
bill (H 3800) a vote of initial approval.
At the outset of the debate, Revenue Committee
Chairman Mark Cusack asked colleagues to give up
their revenue-related amendments and instead
pursue those goals through his committee
following public hearings.
"We will have a full, robust and thoughtful
revenue debate in the coming months," Cusack
said as he suggested that this week is not the
right time for representatives to push their
revenue ideas. "We are serious about looking at
revenue this session, but doing so in a
responsible way."
House Speaker Robert DeLeo, Ways and Means
Chairman Aaron Michlewitz and Cusack have
previously said they intend to discuss proposals
to raise new revenue later this session and not
as part of the budget consideration.
Rep. Mike Connolly withdrew his amendment to
raise the rate at which capital gains are taxed,
Rep. Marc Lombardo withdrew his proposals to
lower the sales and income tax rates to 5
percent, Rep. David DeCoste withdrew proposed
changes to the Community Preservation Act
funding source and Rep. Angelo Scaccia withdrew
his amendments altering the film tax credit
after debating the credit's merits with Majority
Leader Ron Mariano, a film tax credit supporter.
Under an order the House adopted to lay the
ground rules for its budget debate, any
amendment that would raise or lower the revenue
base of the budget plan could only be debated
before the bill (H 3800) was ordered to a third
reading. The House ordered the bill to third
reading at about 12:45 p.m.
Michlewitz introduced his first budget to the
House on Monday morning, describing it as a
balanced proposal to make targeted investments
without stretching the state too thin. He said
the budget, which would increase state spending
about 3 percent and contains to broad-based tax
increases, keeps in mind the recent ebbs and
flows of state tax collections.
"We are cognizant of the volatility of our
revenue picture, which has seen ups and downs in
recent months. We are especially mindful of the
uncertainty in Washington, leaving us wondering
what crisis we will have to deal with next," he
said. "That is why this is a balanced,
fiscally-responsible proposal built on revenues
we know we can count on going forward. We make
targeted investments in education, housing, the
environment, and family planning."
Much of the House budget debate will occur in a
private room near the historic House chamber,
leaving the media and special interest groups in
the dark.
The House on Monday quickly began the process of
assembling the large amendment packages that
serve as the vehicles for most changes to the
committee's budget. At noon, members were
invited to the private members' lounge to
discuss which education and local aid amendments
would make the cut.
"Nothing is decided there," Rep. Lindsay
Sabadosa told the News Service in a tweet. "The
representatives go in and advocate in about 30
seconds for their amendments that are
consolidated within the topic area (& others
they may support). This one was Education and
Local Aid. We won't know W&M's decisions until
later (but not when)."
The Senate uses a similar process to dispense
with large volumes of budget amendments, packing
them into large "yes" and "no" bundles.
During his overview of the House budget,
Michlewitz touted a $20 million increase in
rates paid to early education centers, increases
in spending on public housing subsidies and
homeless shelters, a $30 million boost in
nursing home rates, funding for five new
recovery centers, and what he described as full
funding to implement the state's landmark
criminal justice reform law.
– Michael P.
Norton contributed reporting
The Boston Herald
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
House tables tax bills to open budget in
‘responsible way’
Budget amendments regarding opioid, e-cigarette
taxes withdrawn
By Mary Markos
Amid a “booming” state economy, House
legislators tabled a slew of revenue proposals
as they gaveled open budget deliberations
Monday.
“Obviously revenue is a major topic this session
as we look to increase our investment in
education, transportation and many other areas,”
said Rep. Mark Cusack (D- Braintree), House
Chair of the Joint Committee on Revenue. “We are
serious about looking at revenue this session,
but doing so in a responsible way.”
House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Ways and Means
Committee Chairman Aaron Michlewitz told
reporters during a budget briefing earlier this
month they intend to discuss revenue proposals
later this session.
Budget amendments including bids to increase the
capital gains tax rate, add an excise tax on
opioid manufacturers and extend the tobacco tax
to e-cigarettes were withdrawn.
The push for additional revenue comes as
Governor Charlie Baker described the economy as
“booming” in his inaugural address earlier this
year and boasted that more people are working in
Massachusetts than in the state’s history.
State revenues surged over predictions last
month, taking in $2.67 billion, $316 million
above the monthly benchmark and $427 million
more than March of last year, state records
show.
“The reason why we are focused on raising new
revenue and asking the wealthiest to pay their
fair share is because of the tremendous needs we
see relative to education funding, investments
in transportation, homelessness and housing
programs and all the vital services that are
important to our state’s most vulnerable
residents,” Rep. Mike Connolly told the Herald.
Connolly (D-Cambridge) withdrew an amendment he
proposed to raise the capital gains tax to 8.95
percent from its current 5.05 percent. He has
filed a matching bill that will go before the
Revenue Committee later this session. The
measure is estimated to generate about $1
billion in new revenue for the state each year.
Connolly framed his proposal as a better way to
get a revenue bill through the legislature than
the Fair Share Amendment, also known as the
millionaire’s tax, which requires a change in
the constitution. He did not indicate, however,
that it would be a replacement for that
amendment.
“I’m supporting the Fair Share Amendment. What
we have in front of us I think would be a
proposal to raise new revenue now. And then I
think, as the Fair Share Amendment proceeds, we
could look to make adjustments as needed,”
Connolly said. “My goal is that we raise revenue
in a progressive fashion and to me, that means
asking the wealthiest in our state to pay their
fair share.”
State House News
Service
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Senate revenue group stocked with interest group
appointees
By Chris Lisinski
Although her colleagues in the House have
outlined plans to take up a revenue debate later
this year, Senate President Karen Spilka said
Tuesday she will work with outside interest
groups and members in both parties to study the
topic and produce legislation for the 2021-22
session.
Spilka on Tuesday unveiled the membership of the
Senate's new 21-member Revenue Working Group,
announcing at a press conference that the effort
will require more than a year of work to examine
the state's tax code. Her goal is to have a
report completed by the July 2020 end of formal
sessions to inspire legislation for the next
session, although Spilka said that timeline
could change.
Massachusetts has the "sorry distinction of
leading the nation in income inequality," Spilka
said.
"It has been way too long since we have given
our Commonwealth's tax code a careful and
comprehensive look," the Ashland Democrat said.
"So much has changed in our economy, driven in
large part by our innovation infrastructure
which has created an explosion of new industries
recently. However, we have been addressing that
explosion of the new industries on a piecemeal
basis, which only serves to breed confusion for
businesses, government and consumers alike."
The new working group does not preclude senators
from engaging with the House or taking up their
own revenue debates in the meantime.
"Clearly, there are some issues that will be
coming up, and we will take it on a case-by-case
basis," Spilka said. "This (group) is looking at
the tax code in a real comprehensive, systematic
manner that I don't think has happened on a
combination of the corporate level and
personal-income level in decades."
Finding new revenue has become a recurring
debate topic on Beacon Hill, particularly in
recent years as calls have increased for greater
investment in education and transportation. A
2015 review of the state's foundation budget
found it underinvests in public schools by as
much as $1 billion per year, and a report
released in February warned that the state faces
an $8.4 billion shortfall in transportation
funding.
Spilka said those addressing those concerns is a
top priority.
"There is a definite sense of urgency with
education reform and transportation reform," she
said. "There has been report after report on
both of those issues, but when you think of it,
there's also climate change and housing and
other issues we need to address as a
commonwealth. Some of it is policy, some of it
is support, and this working group will tackle
the revenue side of it."
Revenue-related bills are vetted in the
Legislature by the House-controlled Joint
Committee on Revenue.
Although the House's fiscal year 2020 budget
does not pursue substantial new forms of revenue
— most amendments toward that goal were
withdrawn before debate got underway this week —
Speaker Robert DeLeo hinted his members will
approach the topic "later this year."
Spilka acknowledged Tuesday that, if the House
does pursue new taxes or fees, the Senate will
not sit the matter out. Even the working group
may get involved, she said, if members choose to
review and comment on revenue proposals as they
arise in the Legislature.
After being introduced by Spilka and Sen. Adam
Hinds, who is overseeing the effort, members of
the working group met privately. Spilka aides
said the goal was to enable the members to
become familiar with one another and to outline
how they will approach the next year-plus of
work.
What exactly the group will recommend remains
unclear. Members come from a range of
backgrounds, including business organizations,
labor unions and think tanks. Their views on
taxes are likely to be divergent, too.
Take the renewed push for a surtax on income
higher than $1 million, the so-called
"millionaires tax," as an example: both the
Associated Industries of Massachusetts, which
described the proposal as a "failure," and the
Raise Up Massachusetts coalition, which helped
lead the push for the surtax, are represented in
the working group.
Hinds, who co-chairs the Revenue Committee, said
working group members have already identified
several common themes to address, including how
the tax code must be modified to keep up with a
changing economy and how to improve "fairness."
"Really, we hope to look at the full range of
options and assess the impact they have, then
apply those with the principles agreed by the
group and come up with a coherent system that we
can all be proud of. We're certainly going to be
driven by the motivation that we do all we can
to support working families, small businesses
and a strong economy," Hinds said.
Spilka noted that Hinds is a former United
Nations negotiator.
"He has led teams that have worked on
negotiating deals between Iraqis and Kurds,
Israelis and Palestinians, and to bring about a
ceasefire in Syria, all of which might, just
might have might have prepared him for taking on
the subject of taxes here in Massachusetts, and
we'll see," Spilka said. "This will likely test
all of his diplomatic and negotiating skills."
Hinds, who said the only comprehensive reform of
the state tax code took place more than a decade
ago and focused on corporate taxes only, said he
envisioned "regular" working group meetings this
year. Presentations are expected from group
members and outside experts, he said, and an
initial topic will be the need for data.
Group members also planned Tuesday to discuss
the possibility of holding public hearings, said
Hinds, who called the Bay State tax code "out of
date" and not properly reflective of the shift
from goods to services.
In addition to Hinds, the working group
includes: Sen. William Brownsberger (D-Belmont),
Sen. Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton), Massachusetts
Building Trades Council AFL-CIO Frank Callahan,
Mass. Business Roundtable Executive Director JD
Chesloff, Springfield Regional Chamber President
Nancy Creed, Northeastern University law
professor Peter Enrich, Coalition for Social
Justice Executive Director and Raise Up
Massachusetts co-founder Deb Fastino, TechNet
Executive Director for Mass. and the Northeast
Christina Fisher, tax policy attorney Hilary
Bacon Gabrieli, SEIU Mass. State Council
Executive Director Harris Gruman, Mass. Voter
Table Director Beth Huang, Mass. Taxpayer
Foundation President Eileen McAnneny, Worcester
Regional Chamber of Commerce President Tim
Murray, Mass. Society of CPAs President Amy
Pitter, Associated Industries of Mass. Executive
Vice President of Government Affairs John Regan,
Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera, Mass. Budget and
Policy Center President Marie-Frances Rivera,
Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce President
James Rooney, national Democratic Party Senior
Voter Protection Attorney David Sullivan, and
Mass. AFL-CIO President Steven Tolman.
– Michael P.
Norton contributed reporting
The Boston Herald
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Massachusetts Senate working group to weigh tax
code revisions
By Mary Markos
A Senate Revenue Working Group charged with
revamping the state’s tax code met for the first
time Tuesday to lay the groundwork for a goal to
make legislative recommendations by the end of
the next session.
“In my opinion, it has been way too long since
we have given our commonwealth’s tax code a
careful and comprehensive look,” Senate
President Karen Spilka said. “We must be sure
that we are not funding our future on the backs
of those that can least afford it.”
Sen. Adam Hinds (D-Pittsfield) will chair the
new group, which he said will meet regularly
throughout 2019 to look at ways to “simplify”
the tax code.
“Right now it is incredibly complicated and
often incoherent,” Hinds told reporters. “We’re,
at base, looking to ensure we have a modern tax
system that is efficient, simple, fair, that
supports economic growth and that provides the
necessary revenue for critical government
investments.”
The hope is to make recommendations by the end
of the next year as a basis for new legislation
to file next session, according to Hinds and
Spilka, but they left room to move the deadline
back if need be.
Tuesday’s meeting involved discussing the range
of data and research they will need and who that
will be conducted by, Hinds said, as well as
outlining principles to “guide the group.”
Future meetings will include presentations by
group members and outside experts, according to
Hinds, who also chairs the Joint Committee on
Revenue. The body is composed of lawyers,
advocacy groups, fiscal watchdogs, state
senators and Chamber of Commerce presidents.
The 21-member group includes Massachusetts
Taxpayers Foundation President Eileen McAnneny,
Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera, Massachusetts Budget
and Policy Center President Marie-Frances Rivera
and Massachusetts Business Roundtable Executive
Director JD Chesloff.
“Addressing fairness will be a priority,” Hinds
said. “We will certainly be looking at
recommendations to ensure our economy remains
strong, we’ll look at comparing our system of
revenue with other states.”
The only comprehensive tax code reform in the
state was more than a decade ago and focused on
corporate tax, according to Hinds, but this
project will re-examine personal income tax as
well.
The body will also look at how the economy and
business conduct has evolved over the years, and
consider changes that have been made over time
to address specific issues, but often “without
regard for the impact on the larger system.”
“We think that our tax code, as you heard the
president say, needs to be modernized. It’s out
of date,” Hinds said. “The economy and the way
we live our lives have shifted.”
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Citizens for Limited Taxation ▪
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