In November, Massachusetts residents will vote on as many as 11 initiative petitions that would make major changes to state law. Three of those questions relate directly to the Commonwealth’s economic and fiscal future:• Implementation of mandatory...

Over the last three years, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation has written extensively on the relationship between pandemic-induced changes in working patterns, diminished vibrancy in our downtowns, and the lack of accessible and affordable...

On March 30th, the Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions heard testimony on H.5006 An Act Relative to Limiting State Tax Collection Growth and Returning Surpluses to Taxpayers. MTF was asked to provide expert testimony on the proposal,...

On March 30th, the Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions heard testimony on H.5007 An Act to Reduce the State Personal Income Tax Rate from 5% to 4%. MTF was asked to provide expert testimony on the proposal, which would reduce state tax...

On January 28th, the Healey-Driscoll administration filed its budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027. The $63.36 billion plan increases spending over the FY 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) by $2.3 billion (3.8 percent) and over the...

On January 28th, the Healey-Driscoll administration filed its budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027. The $63.36 billion plan increases spending over the FY 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) by $2.3 billion (3.8 percent) and over the...

On October 1, 2025, federal lawmakers failed to resolve a budget deadlock to start Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2026, resulting in a federal government shutdown. Forty days later, on November 9th, the Senate announced an agreement between Senate...

On July 4th, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into law. The massive tax and spending bill has been scored by the Congressional Budget Office to increase the nation’s debt by $3.9 trillion over the next ten years, and...

The federal government spends more than $6 trillion each year through its annual budget. The federal budget process shares some similarities with the state, but it also differs in many ways.This resource provides a basic outline of that process and...

The purpose of this chartbook, and MTF’s follow-up research, is to contextualize the potential impacts of federal action on Massachusetts. In this introduction, we provide a rubric for how to think about those federal impacts, including the...