North Station

Question you vote on

Should the state’s tax collection limit be based on last year’s actual revenue?

  1. Filed

  2. Certified

  3. Before the legislature

  4. On the ballot

    Voters decide it at the next statewide election.

  5. Approved by voters

State law caps how much tax Massachusetts can collect each year and refunds anything above the cap as income tax credits split evenly among filers. The cap now grows from the previous year’s cap, rising with average wage growth. This proposal would grow it from the revenue actually collected instead, and would count the 4% surtax on income over $1 million, money now reserved for education and transportation.

About Budget & Finance

What your vote does

Yes

A yes vote would base the limit on the previous year’s actual tax revenue and count the income surtax in both the limit and the refund calculation.

No

A no vote would keep the current formula, which builds on the previous year’s limit and leaves the surtax out.

Compare with the government's own wording

Official title

State Revenue Limit & Rebate

Text as filed

This proposed law would change the limit on how much revenue the state can collect in a given year. The proposal would limit state revenue in a given year to the net amount of state revenue from the year before, increased by a rate equal to the average growth of wages and salaries in Massachusetts over the most recent three years. If revenue collected by the state in a given year exceeds the limit, the excess amount would be refunded to taxpayers the following year. The proposed law would include all revenue from the surtax on incomes over $1 million when calculating the revenue limit and when determining whether state revenue exceeds the limit. The provisions of the proposed law would all be effective as of July 1, 2027. The proposed law states that, if any of its parts were declared invalid, the other parts would stay in effect.

Official sources