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Many people in Massachusetts will pay less in taxes in 2024. Here’s a look at new laws this year. – The Boston Globe

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Many people in Massachusetts will pay less in taxes in 2024. Here’s a look at new laws this year. – The Boston Globe


For now, here are the new laws — and expiring ones — to watch:

More money (to come)

Come 2024 tax season, residents can start taking advantage of many of the cuts and beefed-up tax credits included in the state’s $1 billion tax package. That includes a bigger tax credit for low-income workers, a sizable tax cut for day traders who made short-term capital gains, and a bigger deduction for renters that translates into modest (about $50) savings.

But some parts of the law technically didn’t take effect until Monday, meaning residents can’t realize their full benefits until they file their 2024 taxes, likely in spring 2025. That includes an enhanced tax credit for parents of children or caretakers for disabled adults or seniors.

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The law increased credits for child and dependent care from $180 to $310 per dependent claimed on an individual’s 2023 taxes, while also lifting the cap on how many dependents a caretaker can claim. In 2024, the tax credit then jumps $440 per dependent. That means a family with four children could eventually claim $1,760; before the changes, that same family would have been able to claim $360.

Another change going into effect will require all married couples who file joint federal returns to also file jointly at the state level, rather than individually. Some business leaders opposed the measure, but the goal, proponents say, is to prevent wealthy couples from avoiding the so-called millionaires tax, a 4 percent surtax on annual incomes over $1 million, by filing separately.

With the new year, the cap on credits awarded to developers through the Housing Development Incentive Program, or HDIP, also resets to $30 million — up from the $10 million allowed before the bill passed but a drop from the temporary $57 million cap the law set for 2023.

The credit aims to spur more market-rate housing in midsize and smaller cities, and the changes marked one of the first times state House and Senate leaders were in alignment on a major housing policy initiative in 2023. The increase chafed some Democratic lawmakers, who argued that the program’s focus on creating more market-rate housing does little to address a desperate need for more affordable units, too.

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Pandemic policies

COVID-19 has not gone away. In some cases, neither have the laws it inspired, at least until early 2024.

The Legislature last March extended several pandemic-era policies, passing language allowing restaurants to sell cocktails to go with takeout meals and for expanded outdoor dining. But those laws — first passed during the depths of the public health emergency as a lifeline to restaurants — are currently slated to end April 1.

That is, of course, unless lawmakers move to extend them again. In the case of cocktails to go, an extension would be the fourth in as many years.

That measure was at a center of a fight between restaurant owners and liquor stores in 2023. Some lawmakers also hesitated, at least initially, to keep the law in place, particularly in the Senate, which greeted the prospect of another extension coolly before the chamber’s leaders ultimately agreed to it.

Steve Clark, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, said his group is already lobbying to extend both policies. Some restaurants, as well as the cities and towns where they operate, need more time to make permanent their plans to create outdoor dining spaces, particularly those in public spaces, such as sidewalks, he said.

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Some restaurants, typically ones serving Asian or Mexican food, have also embedded specialty to-go drinks into their offerings, Clark said, arguing that an extension to the rule — or a permanent change — would benefit many establishments still struggling to catch up to pre-pandemic sales.

“If there was more of a sign that it’s going to last forever, people would be more inclined to utilize it,” he said.

Package stores, however, are likely to push back hard on any effort. Rob Mellion, executive director of the Massachusetts Package Stores Association, said that the advantage of selling to-go alcohol “must end” and argued that third-party delivery services are ripe for abuse by underage drinkers.

He pointed to the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission’s most recent annual report from 2021, which said in December of that year alone, every one of the more than two dozens deliveries it investigated went to someone underage.

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Chris Almeida, beverage program director at the Tasty restaurant on Court Street in Plymouth, held two carryout cocktails, in 2021.DebeeTlumacki

Sticking with the minimum

One of the more notable developments of the calendar flip is what’s not happening: Those earning the minimum wage in Massachusetts won’t see a pay raise in January.

For years, hundreds of thousands low-income workers — who made $8 an hour a decade ago — could bank on earning more in the new year thanks to legislative changes, including a 2018 law known as the grand bargain. Under that measure, the state’s minimum wage rose each year starting in 2019, gradually increasing to $15 from $11. Minimum wages for tipped employees also steadily rose to $6.75 from $3.75, and the law also gradually phased out mandatory time-and-a-half pay on Sundays and holidays.

Those changes, however, took their final steps in January 2023. When the law passed more than five years ago, the eventual $15 wage floor matched the highest in the country. It still ranks among them, but Connecticut ($15.69), California and parts of New York ($16), Washington state ($16.28), and Washington, D.C., (which hit $17 in July) all have higher minimums.

All told, workers in nearly half of US states were slated to see some type of increase in the new year.

That Massachusetts isn’t among them has prompted calls from labor leaders and advocates to pursue another increase to keep up with the state’s escalating living and housing costs.

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“We have an affordability crisis in Massachusetts, and it’s hitting low-wage workers the hardest,” said Chrissy Lynch, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO.

Whether Beacon Hill is prepared to pursue another increase is a different matter. Democratic lawmakers have filed legislation that would gradually raise the wage floor to $20 and then tie future increases to inflation.

But legislative leaders have not signaled they have an appetite to pursue it. In a statement, a spokesperson for Senate President Karen Spilka noted she would review any proposals to increase the wage floor “should they move forward in the legislative process.” Aides to House Speaker Ronald Mariano did not respond to a request for comment.

Healey has said the wage floor should be adjusted “over time” to keep up with the cost of living, but she did not advocate for raising it before the legislative session ends in July.

“Governor Healey is a strong supporter of paying workers a fair wage and will review any legislation that reaches her desk,” said Karissa Hand, a Healey spokesperson.

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Matt Stout can be reached at matt.stout@globe.com. Follow him @mattpstout.





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Massachusetts

Body part found in Shirley, Massachusetts pond, police suspect foul play

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Body part found in Shirley, Massachusetts pond, police suspect foul play



A body part was found in a pond in Shirley, Massachusetts and investigators said foul play is suspected.

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It was discovered around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday as a group of people were walking along Veterans Memorial Bridge on Shaker Road.

Police said the group noticed something suspicious in the water of Phoenix Pond. The Middlesex District Attorney confirmed that the item was a body part, but would not elaborate.

Police shut down the road and divers could be seen exploring the pond late Wednesday. Authorities were back at the scene Thursday morning.

No other information is available at this point in the investigation.

Phoenix Pond connects to the Catacoonamug Brook, which flows into the Nashua River. It’s also connected to Lake Shirley.

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Shirley, Massachusetts is about 44 miles northwest of Boston and around 13 miles from the New Hampshire border. 



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Massachusetts

Foul play suspected after human remains found in water in Shirley

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Foul play suspected after human remains found in water in Shirley


Human remains were discovered Wednesday in the water in Shirley, Massachusetts, and authorities suspect foul play.

Police in Shirley said in a social media post at 7:15 p.m. that they responded to “a suspicious object in the water near the Maritime Veterans Memorial Bridge on Shaker Road.” Massachusetts State Police later said the object was believed to be human remains.

The bridge crosses Catacoonamug Brook near Phoenix Pond.

The office of Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said a group of young people was walking in the area around 5:30 p.m. and “reported seeing what appeared to be something consistent with a body part in the water.”

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Foul play is suspected, Ryan’s office said.

Authorities will continue investigating overnight into Thursday, and an increased police presence is expected in the area.

No further information was immediately available.



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Massachusetts

Ice covered highways, streets and sidewalks in Boston area rattled nerves during morning commute: “I’m ready for the thaw”

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Ice covered highways, streets and sidewalks in Boston area rattled nerves during morning commute: “I’m ready for the thaw”


It was a treacherous commute for drivers across Massachusetts Wednesday morning. Ice on roads and highways caused several crashes during rush hour.

In Danvers, 22 miles north of Boston, the ramp from Interstate 95 to Route 1 north was covered in ice, leading to three separate crashes involving twelve cars. Three people were taken to local hospitals.

In Danvers, Mass. the ramp from Interstate 95 to Route 1 north was covered in ice, leading to three separate crashes involving twelve cars on March 4, 2026.

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CBS Boston


In Revere, just seven miles north of the city, two tractor-trailers collided on North Shore Road. Police said it will be shut down for most of the day. It’s unclear if this crash was caused by icy conditions.

Forty-four miles west of Boston, a tractor-trailer ran off the westbound side of the Massachusetts Turnpike in Westboro. One person was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester with what were described by the fire department as “non-life threatening injuries.”

The ice wasn’t just a problem for drivers. People walking around Boston were also slipping and sliding Wednesday morning.

“I almost fell at least five times but I didn’t. I don’t know how. I screamed and caught edges,” Swapna Vantzelfde told CBS News Boston about her walk to work in the South End. It took longer than usual.

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“The internal streets they just don’t get plowed, the little ones that people live on and then these arteries, the big streets, they’re cleaned a lot better,” she said.

Those on two legs and four were all stepping gingerly across slick spots.

“A little treacherous. Very slick and icy out here,” said a father pushing a stroller. “Sometimes you have something to hold on to, which helps.”

With plenty of snow piled along sidewalks and between parking spots, most people are done with winter.

“I’m over it. I’m ready for the thaw,” said one man. 

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