Current:Home > StocksMassachusetts lawmakers unveil sweeping $1 billion tax relief package-InfoLens
Massachusetts lawmakers unveil sweeping $1 billion tax relief package
View Date:2024-12-23 10:44:28
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts lawmakers unveiled a tax relief package Tuesday aimed at delivering $561 million in reductions to taxpayers and companies during the current fiscal year through a slew of tax credits and other steps aimed at lowering tax burdens.
The proposal — which would top $1 billion in tax relief by the 2027 fiscal year when fully phased in — includes more than a dozen specific tax proposals, from eliminating the tax for estates under $2 million to increasing the child and dependent tax credit from $180 to $330 per child or dependent in the current tax year to $440 for the 2024 tax year.
Lawmakers say the increased child tax credit will benefit 565,000 families and will be the most generous universal child and dependent tax credit in the country.
The bill would also increase the cap on the rental deduction from $3,000 to $4,000, reduce the tax rate on short-term capital gains from 12% to 8.5% and allow cities and towns to adopt a local property tax exemption to encourage affordable housing.
Democratic Senate President Karen Spilka called the proposal historic.
“It is the largest bipartisan legislative tax relief proposal in over a generation,” Spilka said. “This tax relief bill will help alleviate many, many financial burdens that our families, our seniors, our renters face and put real dollars in their pockets.”
A low-income household with two children will see its tax refund check increase by more than $1,000 if the bill becomes law, she said.
“This is real money,” she added.
House Speaker Ronald Mariano, a fellow Democrat, also praised the bill, in particular the provision that strengthens from $1,200 to $2,400 the maximum senior circuit breaker tax credit, a refundable credit for senior citizens based on real estate taxes or rent paid on residential property owned or rented as a principal residence.
“It’s one of the greatest programs that we’ve ever come up with in my time involved in the state where you can actually get money to stay in your house, even if you don’t pay state taxes,” Mariano said.
The bill is expected to be voted on Wednesday in the House and Thursday in the Senate.
If approved, the next stop is Gov. Maura Healey’s office for her signature.
Healey called tax relief essential for making Massachusetts “more affordable, competitive and equitable.”
“This is a comprehensive package that delivers relief to families and businesses, including through our proposed Child and Family Tax Credit,” Healey said in a written statement. “I look forward to reviewing the details.”
Healey released her own $742 million tax relief package in February. Her proposal would have eliminated the tax for estates valued up to $3 million. Massachusetts is one of just 12 states with an estate tax.
In April, Massachusetts House lawmakers overwhelmingly approved their own $654 million tax relief package, followed by the Senate, which unveiled a $590 million tax relief proposal in June.
The single compromise bill set to be voted on this week would also make changes to a 1986 law designed to limit state tax revenue growth and return any excess to taxpayers. The law triggered nearly $3 billion in refunds last year.
The bill would keep the law but ensure the money is paid out equally among taxpayers, lawmakers said.
veryGood! (72857)
Related
- Jerry Jones lashes out at question about sun's glare at AT&T Stadium after Cowboys' loss
- Social Security recipients could see the smallest COLA increase since 2021. Here's what to expect.
- Stock market today: World stocks mixed with volatile yen after Wall Street rises on inflation report
- Can California’s health care providers help solve the state’s homelessness crisis?
- TikToker Campbell “Pookie” Puckett Gives Birth, Welcomes First Baby With Jett Puckett
- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Have Royally Cute Date Night at 2024 ESPYS
- 2 buses carrying at least 60 people swept into a river by a landslide in Nepal. 3 survivors found
- Woman swimming off Japanese beach was swept into the Pacific, but rescued 37 hours later and 50 miles away
- Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson weighs in on report that he would 'pee in a bottle' on set
- For at least a decade Quinault Nation has tried to escape the rising Pacific. Time is running out
Ranking
- Will Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul end in KO? Boxers handle question differently
- Mississippi election officials argue against quick work on drawing new majority-Black districts
- Social Security recipients could see the smallest COLA increase since 2021. Here's what to expect.
- Don't let AI voice scams con you out of cash
- Horoscopes Today, November 11, 2024
- Ammo vending machines offer 24/7 access to bullets at some U.S. grocery stores
- Caitlin Clark's next game: Indiana Fever vs. Phoenix Mercury on Friday
- Caitlin Clark's next game: Indiana Fever vs. Phoenix Mercury on Friday
Recommendation
-
Multi-State Offshore Wind Pact Weakened After Connecticut Sits Out First Selection
-
The Daily Money: Are bonds still a good investment?
-
Dollar General agrees to pay $12 million fine to settle alleged workplace safety violations
-
Vermonters pummeled by floods exactly 1 year apart begin another cleanup
-
The results are in: Peanut the Squirrel did not have rabies, county official says
-
Inflation slowed more than expected in June as gas prices fell, rent rose
-
Woman swimming off Japanese beach was swept into the Pacific, but rescued 37 hours later and 50 miles away
-
Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2024: The Best Beauty Exclusive Deals from La Mer, Oribe, NuFACE & More