Saturday, January 26, 2013
The governor's budget proposal for fiscal 2014 would raise $1.9 billion in new revenues through a combination of tax increases and eliminating some tax breaks. Is the state's economy ready for this?
After years of treading water in the state budget, Gov. Deval Patrick has put forth an ambitious $34.8 billion proposal for the coming fiscal year that would make significant investments in education and transportation by raising $1.9 billion in revenue, through a combination of tax hikes and eliminating some tax breaks. The question: Is the state's economy ready for this? To raise that funding, Patrick's proposal would increase the income tax from 5.25 percent to 6.25 percent, while doubling personal exemptions. It'd also lower the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 4.5 percent. Several tax breaks for both personal income and businesses would be eliminated. The gas tax would be indexed to inflation, ensuring gradual increases in what people …
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
The Internet retailer said the collection would begin in time for next year's holiday shopping season.
Checking out at Amazon.com will be a little pricier starting next November. The Internet retailer will start collecting Massachusetts state tax for next year's holiday shopping season. Gov. Deval Patrick's office announced the deal Tuesday, stating the company would be adding jobs to Massachusetts in the next few years. Amazon.com and Patrick said they would work together to support a federal bill allowing individual states to collect sales tax in states where they have no physical location. The co-owner of one well-known Boston area business that has been hit hard by Amazon's tax-free run is is celebrating the decision. "For every brick and mortar retailer, this is a huge victory,” Dana Brigham of Brookline Booksmith told CBS Boston. "It …
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
The impact from the repeal of a liquor tax remains to be seen.
Roughly 52 percent of voters chose to repeal the 6.25 percent state alcohol tax at the elections last November. This came much to the disappointment of tax supporters who were relying on those dollars to help in the funding of substance abuse treatment and prevention programs. Liquor store owners and the Massachusetts Package Stores Association, however, gladly welcomed this change. This was especially true for proprietors in our neck of the woods ,whose business quickly migrated to tax-free New Hampshire when the tax was first instituted. Those in favor of repealing the tax argued that alcohol was already subject to excise tax, therefore the additional “double tax’ was unfair. Opponents sought the tax as a needed boost in state revenue …
Kathleen
3:54 pm on Wednesday, April 10, 2013
People ought to check out how much the state's higher education system is paying people these days. Secretaries making close to $100K. Any funding going to higher ed isn't going to pay people back by way of lower tuition costs for the tax payers who are struggling to put their kids through college. It's a farce. Every administrator in the system will be getting another big fat raise. I didn't … more ›