BOSTON (AP) — The Legislature has advanced a constitutional amendment calling for an additional tax on the state’s highest earners, while skirting any discussion of replacing Massachusetts’s current flat tax system with a graduated income tax.
Backers of the so-called “millionaire tax” say the 4% surtax would generate as much as $2 billion in annual revenue, with the money earmarked for investments in education and transportation. Republicans and business groups that opposed the measure argued it could put a drag on the state’s booming economy.
The 147-48 vote Wednesday by a joint session of the Democratic-controlled Legislature is a major step toward finally putting the amendment before voters in 2022, but another favorable vote is needed by lawmakers during the next two-year session of the Legislature.
The state’s constitution currently requires that all income be taxed at uniform rates.