On Friday, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey shared a sneak peek of her budget plan for 2025. One of her ideas is to let cities and towns raise some taxes. Healey told city and town officials at the Hynes Convention Center on Friday that the budget will include $8.7 billion in local aid, which is a 3 percent increase from this fiscal year.
She said that the state has “real challenges” at the yearly meeting of the Massachusetts Municipal Association.
“A lot of the funding that everybody had for a few years is going away or has gone away, right?” Healey told the hundreds of local leaders who were there. “Our sales are still going up, but not as quickly as they used to.”
The Municipal Empowerment Act would give cities and towns in Massachusetts a number of ways to raise taxes and fees to get money. In Boston, it would go from 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent. It would let communities raise the highest local option lodging tax on hotel, motel, and other rentals from 6 percent to 7 percent of the price of a room. The bill wants to raise the highest local option meal tax from.75% to 1% of the price of a meal at a restaurant or store in the area.
The plan also lets towns decide if they want to add a new 5 percent Motor Vehicle Excise surcharge. This is a fee that all cities and towns charge for vehicles registered in their areas, and it is based on how much the vehicle is worth.
The Motor car Excise Tax in Massachusetts is $25 for every $1,000 of a decreasing percentage of the value of a car. The value is the manufacturer’s list price in the year it was made. An administration policy brief said that the car excise tax brought in more than $950 million for the city in 2022.
“The Municipal Empowerment Act proposes multiple reforms that municipal leaders have asked for to improve the services they can provide to their communities and make operations more efficient,” Healey said in a press release. “We are also proud to be increasing funding for roads, bridges, schools, and municipal services to improve quality of life in all of our communities.”
Check more: 3 North Texas Teachers Donate 3 Kidneys in 3 Days
The top Republicans in the legislature were very critical of the tax plan. They warned that it would make things more expensive for people in Massachusetts.
“To be honest, I’m confused why the governor says we’re not going to raise taxes when it looks like we’re going to suggest ways for everyone else to do so,” Republican House Minority Leader Brad Jones told the State House News Service. “I guess I’m somewhat shocked they’re proposing that.” Jones said that different local tax rates, which depend on which cities and towns decide to raise taxes, also makes people worry about fairness.
In a written statement, MassGOP Chairwoman Amy Carnevale said, “The proposed tax increase will hurt the restaurant industry, making it more expensive for residents and their families to eat out.” “This latest proposal will hurt the hotel and tourism industry.”
Tax hikes hurt our communities and make it harder for people to pay to live in our state. “It’s not fair to put more stress on people who already have to pay too much for housing,” part of the written statement said.
It was said by the governor’s office that the bill comes from what Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll heard from more than 130 managers and executives from 112 municipalities during a listening tour last year.
Representative Healey wants to let local taxes go up. When asked about it, a representative for House Speaker Ron Mariano told the News Service, “The House will review the Governor’s bill.” A spokesperson for Senate President Karen Spilka did not answer when asked for a response.
Bruce Tarr, the minority leader in the Senate, said that the Legislature and Healey had just decided to lower taxes to help lower the high cost of living in the state.
Leave a Reply