Panel Advances Plan to Slap Extra Tax on Millionaires

BOSTON (AP) — A legislative committee on Beacon Hill has signed off on a proposed “millionaire tax.”

The Revenue Committee voted 12-4 on Thursday to advance a proposed constitutional amendment that calls for an additional tax of 4 percent on people with annual incomes of $1 million or more. Three Republicans and one Democrat on the panel opposed it.

The vote represents another small step toward placing the matter before voters on the November 2018 ballot.

The measure must first receive the backing of at least 25 percent of lawmakers meeting in constitutional convention — a joint meeting of the House and Senate — during two successive legislative sessions.

Backers collected more than 157,000 signatures in support of the amendment, which calls for using proceeds from the millionaire tax for education and transportation.