The House will offer their own version of a tax cut package, House Speaker Ron Mariano told the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, setting up a potential showdown between the state’s two most powerful politicians.
“I have been clear; if revenue predictions indicate that there is an opportunity to responsibly provide tax relief, the House will do so,” he said Thursday morning, according to prepared remarks provided by his staff.
“After countless informative conversations with colleagues, months of internal research, and consensus revenue and tax relief hearings, I’m proud to announce today that the House will soon release a comprehensive tax reform package aimed at providing responsible, permanent financial relief to all residents of the Commonwealth, regardless of income status,” he said.
Mariano also addressed the Chamber during one of their regular Government Affairs Forums in May of last year, when the state was considering a different tax cut proposal, that time put forward by former Gov. Charlie Baker.
Gov. Maura Healey’s tax cut proposal proposal, released at the end of February, isn’t much different from that which was offered by Baker aside from the notable addition of a $600 per dependent child tax credit.
Parts of Baker’s plan almost made it through the Legislature last session, Mariano explained, but the lawmakers hadn’t factored in the triggering of a 1986 law which required them to send about $3 billion back to taxpayers. House and Senate negotiators let the tax cuts die in committee.
Mariano has maintained that lawmakers were concerned about cutting taxes after sending so much back to residents while staring into uncertain economic headwinds, promising to consider the plan again if the math involved looked right.
As of now, the Speaker told the Chamber, times are ripe for many of those tax cuts to be seen again in a new House version of the governor’s tax proposal.
“Among the reforms being considered for proposal are several of the provisions that the Legislature advanced last session, provisions that were designed to provide relief to families, renters, and many of the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable residents, all while making Massachusetts more competitive with other states,” Mariano said.
A major difference between the House’s tax cut proposal and the governor’s, according to the speaker, will be the manner of implementation. Healey’s plan, as written, would go into effect after passage. House lawmakers will float a proposal to gradually implement changes to the tax code.
“In order to guarantee that this proposal does not jeopardize the long-term financial security of the Commonwealth, our tax relief package will propose phasing in several tax reforms over a multi-year period,” he told the Chamber.
The Speaker also indicated the House’s version of Healey’s about $55 billion fiscal 2024 budget proposal would include her plan to let adults over 25 without degrees go to community colleges or trade schools free of charge.
“This plan will undoubtedly create educational and career opportunities for residents across the Commonwealth, many of whom may come from historically underserved communities, while also helping to ensure that Massachusetts possesses a highly trained workforce that is prepared for the industries of the future,” Mariano said.
The budget will also, according to Mariano, permanently fund free school lunches for every child in the Commonwealth, which would make Massachusetts the fifth such state to do so.
“This is one of the many federally supported initiatives that was implemented during the pandemic whose
future was jeopardized when the federal government ended the program. I am proud that the House led
the way last year to continue this funding, and of our renewed commitment to this important element of
the Commonwealth’s pandemic recovery efforts,” he said.
