With 2021 successes, The Beacon Hill Institute is poised to debate state tax policy in 2022
As 2021 comes to a close, I would like to tell you about our accomplishments during the year by highlighting our work on state tax policy. The Institute is a voice that continues to be heard on fiscal matters. Consider the following.
Even with billions of dollars coming in from Washington, Massachusetts faces the prospect of a “millionaires’ tax” to raise another $2 billion annually in new tax revenue. Earlier this year, we released a study that identified the considerable losses to the state economy, including out-migration, that the millionaires’ tax would impose. Supporters of this tax ignore that high-income taxpayers will react to the new tax by scaling back their investment and hiring plans. More significantly, we found that in 2023, for example, more than 4,000 families would leave the Bay State, with employment dipping by nearly 9,000 jobs. Workers will have less disposable income ($963 million) and the state’s gross domestic product would shrink by $431 million.
These are the numbers taxpayers should know. BHI will be on hand to remind voters of the consequences of the millionaires’ tax, particularly its impact on small businesses as the measure heads to the ballot next November.
Unfortunately, in Massachusetts, wishful thinking continues to drive misconceived policy proposals. In March, the Institute found that a comprehensive net-zero carbon emissions target for 2050 would increase Massachusetts household costs to unacceptable levels. To reach such a goal would require gasoline to be priced above $14.00 a gallon. Without BHI on hand to identify the costs associated with such far-reaching plans, consumers and taxpayers would face increasingly stark consequences at the legislature’s hands.
BHI has the ear of Massachusetts legislators. In addition to providing annual revenue forecasts, our Director of Research, Will Burke, was named to the state Tax Expenditure Commission, which seeks to ensure that special tax breaks don’t overwhelm the state budget.
It’s not only legislators who rely on BHI for its analyses. Local media outlets like The Boston Herald, The Boston Globe, CommonWealth magazine, and the State House News service regularly turn to the Institute for informed policy analysis.
This year our staff published pieces opposing a proposed MBTA expansion and “free bus service.” We argued in the Globe that user fees and not taxpayer dollars should go to maintaining our state parks and wrote a piece in CommonWealth magazine supporting the rideshare industry in Massachusetts, which has come under the threat of anti-competitive legislation.
To do all this, we need your support! That is why we are asking for a generous end-of-the-year contribution. Funded research will contribute only 50% of our 2022 operating budget. We need donors like you to help us continue our work and to grow our audience.
We earnestly request any amount you can give, whether it is $10,000, $5,000, $2,000, $1,000, or whatever you are comfortable with. I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you personally or talk to you on the phone.
(I can be reached at 617-821-7698) or over Zoom to discuss our work and agenda for next year.
However much you give, rest assured that your contribution will go toward our continuing efforts to promote sound economic policies here in Massachusetts and across the nation. Thank you in advance for your consideration.
Sincerely,
David G. Tuerck
President