Massachusetts
Massachusetts’s ‘millionaires tax’ has already generated $1.8 billion this year, blowing past state projections – The Boston Globe
The Department of Revenue won’t certify the official amount raised until later this year. But the estimates immediately buoyed supporters’ claims that the surtax would deliver much-needed revenue for the state despite fears it could drive out some of the state’s wealthiest residents.
“Opponents of the Fair Share Amendment claimed that multi-millionaires would flee Massachusetts rather than pay the new tax, and they are being proven wrong every day,” said Andrew Farnitano, a spokesperson for Raise Up Massachusetts, the union-backed group which pushed the 2022 ballot initiative.
“With this money from the ultra-rich, we can do even more to improve our public schools and colleges, invest in roads, bridges, and public transit, and start building an economy that works for everyone,” Farnitano said.
Voters approved the measure in 2022 to levy an additional 4 percent tax on annual earnings over $1 million. At the time, the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, a left-leaning think tank, projected it could generate at least $2 billion a year.
State officials last year put their estimates slightly lower at up to $1.7 billion, and lawmakers embraced calls from economists to cap what it initially spends from the surtax, given it may be too volatile to rely upon in its first year.
So far, it’s vastly exceeded those expectations, generating nearly $1.4 billion alone last quarter, which coincided with a better-than-expected April for tax collections overall.
State officials said that they raked in $1 billion more in tax revenue overall than they had projected in April. That marked a stark reversal from earlier in the fiscal year, when collections lagged expectations for months, prompting state officials to slash spending, downgrade their revenue forecast, and, last month, freeze some state hiring.
Matt Gorzkowicz, Healey’s budget chief, said at the time that officials believe most of the unexpected revenue was generated by the “millionaires tax” and collections from capital gains, all money that state officials largely can’t use to balance the budget.
Revenue from the surtax is constitutionally mandated to go toward education and transportation initiatives, while excess revenue from capital gains must flow to the state’s emergency savings account. Nevertheless, Gorzkowicz said then that state officials believe they’re on track to close the fiscal year at the end of June in line with projections.
Massachusetts has struggled with residents leaving the state in recent years.
In 2021 — before the “millionaires tax” took effect — Massachusetts said goodbye to taxpayers with a collective $4.3 billion in adjusted gross income, an increase of 40 percent from the prior year, according to an analysis by the Pioneer Institute. Nearly 25,200 more tax filers moved out of Massachusetts than moved in, the data show.
A recent analysis by Boston Indicators, the research arm of the Boston Foundation found that the people moving out of Massachusetts across 2021 and 2022 were predominantly middle- and high-income earners, and college-educated.
Particularly dire: Working-age adults are leaving in droves. On net, Massachusetts lost an average of 22,631 people ages 25 to 44 across 2021 and 2022 — the largest number of any age group and a marked increase over previous years, according to the report.
Exactly why — and how much the tax environment may have contributed — wasn’t completely clear, as the state has also struggled with a housing crisis that has pushed families and others to seek more affordable locales.
The same analysis found that the state’s population rebounded last year, with a gain of nearly 11,500 residents from July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2023, as immigration numbers rebounded from pandemic-era lows.
“Whatever short term financial benefit the state will receive from the income surtax will be outweighed by the long-term negative effect this tax is having on the state,” said Paul Craney, a spokesperson for the conservative-leaning Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance.
Phineas Baxandall, the Mass. Budget and Policy Center’s interim president, said Monday that the take from the tax shouldn’t be shocking. A state analysis five years ago predicted that the “millionaires tax” could generate nearly $2 billion, he said, and “income has further concentrated at the top since then.”
“This isn’t surprising,” he said.
State Senator Michael Rodrigues, the state’s budget chief, said on the Senate floor Monday that excess revenue from the tax could ultimately come close to $1 billion for this fiscal year. Under language lawmakers passed last year, 85 percent of any “excess” revenue is transferred to an account reserved for one-time projects or spending, such as road maintenance, school building projects, or major public transportation work.
“We will not have any problems identifying those,” Rodrigues said. “As we all know, [transportation and education] are two areas of immense need.”
Material from the State House News Service was used in this report.
Matt Stout can be reached at matt.stout@globe.com. Follow him @mattpstout.
The Farm Bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives April 30 could undermine a Massachusetts law aimed at preventing animal cruelty.
The sweeping agricultural bill includes a section called the “Save Our Bacon Act,” which prohibits state and local governments from having farm animal welfare protections that extend to products originating in other states.
The measure specifically targets Massachusetts and California state laws that prohibit certain farm animals from being held in extreme confinement.
Massachusetts Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, both Democrats, released a statement opposing the inclusion of the measure in the Farm Bill.
“This is a highly controversial and poisonous policy that ignores the will of the people. These state laws were overwhelmingly supported by a popular vote — they shouldn’t be overridden because of big-dollar lobbying,” the senators said in their statement. “We have significant concerns about the House-passed Farm Bill, including this overreaching and harmful provision that should not be in the Farm Bill and needs to be removed.”
What is Massachusetts’s Question 3?
In 2016, Massachusetts voters passed Question 3, or an Act to Prevent Cruelty to Farm Animals, with 78% of the vote.
The measure banned the sale of eggs, veal or pork from animals that were “confined in a cruel manner.” It eliminated enclosures that prevented an animal from lying down, standing up, fully extending their limbs or turning around freely.
All of these products sold in Massachusetts must be compliant, regardless of whether the animals were raised on farms in or outside Massachusetts. Therefore, out-of-state farms must comply with Question 3 in order to sell their products in Massachusetts.
Town Line cares for 50 cows, reserving some each year for meat to sell at its farm store.
The law is similar to California’s Proposition 12, which also lays out specific freedom of movement and minimum floor space requirements for how veal calves, breeding pigs and egg-laying hens are kept. It also doesn’t allow the sale of any products from animals confined in ways that don’t meet their standards, including those produced in other states.
What is the Save Our Bacon Act?
The Save Our Bacon Act seeks to block California’s and Massachusetts’s laws on out-of-state producers by saying that no state “may enact or enforce, directly or indirectly, a condition or standard on the production of covered livestock other than for covered livestock physically raised in such State or subdivision.”
The legislation would apply to any domestic animal raised for the purpose of human consumption or milk production, but not animals raised primarily for egg production.
Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, originally introduced the Save Our Bacon Act in July 2025.
“California’s Proposition 12 and Massachusetts’ Question 3 pose a major threat to family farms and food security — both in Iowa and across the country,” she said in a press release at the time. “The Save Our Bacon Act reaffirms livestock producers’ right to sell their products across state lines, without interference from arbitrary mandates.”
The act was added as a section in the Farm Bill, which was then passed by the House on a vote of 224-200. The bill next heads to the Senate, where its fate is unclear as lawmakers both across and within party lines have butted heads on several provisions.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Farm Bill provision threatens Massachusetts animal welfare rules
Fire broke out at an apartment building in North Attleborough, Massachusetts, on Monday afternoon, sending a column of smoke high into the air.
NBC affiliate WJAR-TV reports the smoke was visible from miles away from the building on Juniper Road.
More details were not immediately available.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Life Care Center of Raynham has received a deficiency‑free inspection result from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, a distinction awarded to a small share of the state’s licensed nursing homes, according to a community announcement.
The inspection was conducted as part of the state’s routine, unannounced nursing home survey process overseen by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. These comprehensive, multi‑day inspections evaluate multiple aspects of facility operations, including staffing levels, quality of care, medication management, cleanliness, food service and resident rights.
State survey records show that Life Care Center of Raynham met required standards during its most recent standard survey, with no deficiencies cited, based on publicly available state data.
The announcement states that fewer than 8% of Massachusetts nursing homes achieve deficiency‑free survey results. That figure could not be independently verified through state or federal data and is attributed to the announcement.
In addition to the state survey outcome, the facility is listed as a five‑star provider for quality measures on the federal Medicare Care Compare website. The five‑star quality measure rating reflects above‑average performance compared with other nursing homes nationwide, according to federal rating methodology.
Officials said the inspection results reflect ongoing compliance with state and federal standards designed to protect resident health and safety. According to the announcement, the outcome is attributed to staff performance and internal quality practices.
This story was created by Dave DeMille, ddemille@gannett.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.
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