The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation (MTF) appreciates the opportunity to comment on the Foundation Budget Review Commission’s proposals on health care and special education costs. There is clear agreement that the growth in health care costs since...

Implementation of the 2011 municipal health reform law is vastly surpassing expectations as 102 Massachusetts communities have negotiated agreements with employees that will generate $117 million in first year savings, according to a new analysis...

The Senate has concluded its FY 2019 budget debate. Over three days, the Senate considered 1,196 amendments, adding $75.5 million in new spending and 125 policy sections to the original Senate Ways and Means (SWM) proposal. The final Senate budget...

The Senate finalized its fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget yesterday after three days of debate. Through the amendment process, the Senate added $52.2 million in new spending and added 150 policy sections to the spending plan released from the Senate...

Michael J. Widmer, the long-time president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation who has played a central role in some of the most important policy debates and decisions of the past 25 years, announced today his intention to retire when the...

Last week, the Massachusetts State Senate finalized its version of the fiscal year 2020 budget after considering the Senate Committee on Ways and Means (SWM) budget proposal and the 1,142 amendments filed by Senators. The differences between the...

Backed by a broad coalition of business, civic, and education organizations, on April 26 the House took bold action to provide desperately needed fiscal relief to cities and towns by giving municipal leaders the same flexibility as the state to...

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...

Twenty prominent Massachusetts business organizations representing thousands of employers today announced an initiative to save $100 million in health care costs by reducing avoidable use of hospital emergency departments. The newly formed...