Massachusetts
Wealth surtax may generate $3 billion in Mass.
State budget honcho Matthew Gorzkowicz told municipal officials Tuesday that Massachusetts is on track to rake in nearly $3 billion from its surtax on household income greater than about $1 million, more than double the estimate used to craft this year’s budget.
The Department of Revenue reported last month that the state had collected just less than $2.6 billion from the 4% surtax between July 1, 2024, and April 30, 2025, surpassing the $2.46 billion that the surtax generated in fiscal 2024 in just 10 months of fiscal 2025. May and June collections are expected to add to that total, and Gorzkowicz said Tuesday that he now thinks total fiscal 2025 surtax collections “could be closer to $3 billion.”
“We will have the benefit of being able to spend those dollars on education, transportation, as you’ve seen us do with our January supp as part of our transportation package this past year,” the secretary of administration and finance told the Local Government Advisory Commission, referring to the surtax surplus spending bill that is now in conference committee. “We’ll have another opportunity to do that again.”
The Healey administration and legislative Democrats have used conservative collection estimates in the first few years of the surtax, which was approved by voters in 2022. Under the constitution, revenue generated by the surtax can only be used for education or transportation initiatives and the conservative estimating has given lawmakers extra money to dole out separate from the traditional state budget process.
When they built the fiscal 2025 budget, the administration and legislative leaders agreed to spend $1.3 billion in surtax revenue this year. If Gorzkowicz’s estimate proves correct, the Legislature could have as much as $1.7 billion to spend sometime after DOR certifies the full-year surtax collection amount in the fall.
When they agreed on a consensus revenue estimate for fiscal 2026 earlier this year, Gorzkowicz and the Ways and Means Committee chairs mutually estimated the state will collect $2.4 billion from the income surtax in fiscal 2026. But they agreed to spend at most $1.95 billion from that in the annual budget bill, which like the surtax surplus bill is also the subject of conference committee negotiations.
Half of the city turned out this weekend to celebrate what’s great about Boston — its people.
On sunny or snowy days, Bostonians will help you out. The Tartan Army from Scotland and Norwegian soccer fans witnessed that last week.
This time, the surprise was all local.
“I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” said George Regan, as he gazed at nearly 300 people who showed up for the christening of his son, George Kenneth Regan IV.
“Teach number four to be a really wonderful person and he’ll teach it to number five,” said former Gov. Charlie Baker, who said that’s the secret to life. Baker himself is the fourth Charlie, with a son the fifth. We all stand on those who came before us, the former governor added.
Work will come around soon enough, but Saturday was a celebration that started at St. Gregory Parish in Dorchester and finished with a reception at Davio’s in the Seaport.
Regan, founder and CEO of the Regan Communications Group, welcomed everyone alongside his wife, Elizabeth, and their new baby boy.
Former Mayor Ray Flynn said it best: Reagan has “stood up for people who needed you.”
There’s not enough ink in this paper to chronicle how connections keep Boston thriving. That’s the space where Regan’s PR firm operates. There are plenty of other similar agencies; it’s just that George Regan has been at the helm of his group since he left former Mayor Kevin White’s office.
Maybe that’s what makes dealing with him so rewarding. Kevin White loved Boston, and that rubbed off on everyone who worked for him.
Former police commissioners Bill Bratton and William “Willie” Gross both spoke as did UMass President Marty Meehan, Denella J. Clark, president and CEO of Boston Arts Academy Foundation, Steve DiFillippo, Davio’s owner, and more.
Former Herald editor Ken Chandler, newly reelected Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, and car magnate Herb Chambers were some of the notables in the crowd.
“Elizabeth and I are honored to welcome our miracle child into the faith alongside the remarkable circle of friends, mentors, and partners who have stood with us through every chapter,” said Regan, who was just recently sick.
But, like Boston, you can’t keep a good man down.
When Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey is informed of the latest scandal, indictment, or attempted billion-dollar bid-rigging etc., she inevitably claims to be as astonished as everyone else.
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A teenager was pulled from a pond in Milton, Massachusetts, after he went missing while swimming Saturday night.
The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office said the teenaged male was taken to a Boston area hospital following the incident at Houghton’s Pond. It’s unclear how long the teen was under water, and there was no immediate word on his condition.
State police had said earlier that they responded to the pond shortly after 7 p.m. for a person who entered the water and didn’t resurface. State police divers, detectives, troopers, and the Milton Fire Department were all on scene involved in the search.
The DA’s office is conducting an investigation with state police that remains ongoing. Further information is not being released at this time.
This story will be updated when we learn more
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