The Foundation's latest commentary on the software services tax.

Citing the recently passed technology tax “as a grave danger to the future of the innovation economy,” 20 Massachusetts business leaders, representing both small and large companies, today filed an initiative petition to repeal the recently enacted 6.25% sales tax on computer and software…

This is the most sweeping such tax in the nation. It strikes at the heart of the state’s innovation economy and will stifle job creation for years to come.

The Governor’s proposed sales tax on computer and data processing and custom software would have very serious ramifications for major sectors of the state’s economy.

The Foundation’s analysis of the Governor’s tax proposal shows that the elimination of the personal income tax exemptions and the additional corporate taxes account for most of the $1.9 billion in new revenues. The analysis also summarizes the 44 personal income tax exemptions and deductions that…

Municipal revenues and expenditures grew by just 2.7 percent to $22.6 billion in fiscal 2012, leaving Massachusetts cities and towns in the midst of a three-year slowdown that is unprecedented in the Proposition 2 ½ era, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation’s 42nd annual Municipal…

Fiscal 2014 tax revenues will grow by $835 million, or 3.9 percent, to $22.37 billion, according to a new forecast released today by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. “While fiscal 2014 shows an improving revenue picture, we are still a long way from experiencing the level of revenue growth…

The Foundation’s latest report, State Tax Expenditures: Less Than Meets The Eye, examines the state’s annual estimate of “tax expenditures,” or the amount of revenue the state foregoes because of exceptions to tax laws. While commonly thought of as incentives, tax breaks, or loopholes that benefit…

In the attached table, the Foundation summarizes and contrasts the 2013 final budget passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor with spending for fiscal years 2008 through 2012.

While tax expenditures are commonly thought of as tax breaks given to specific businesses or industries, they actually represent a much broader set of tax policies that benefit every resident of the state. Tax expenditures include all exemptions from the state sales tax, as well as exclusions,…