Mariano: No Tax Relief In Budget, But Maybe Later

The details of the House budget won’t be fully known until Wednesday, but House Speaker Ron Mariano said Monday that his chamber is not going to propose tax relief or tax breaks as part of its plan for fiscal year 2023.

On the heels of a massive surplus last year and better-than-expected tax collections so far this budget year, Gov. Charlie Baker proposed a nearly $700 million tax relief package aimed at helping parents, low-income workers and seniors. Leaders in both branches have indicated an interest in approving some kind of tax relief this session. Residents have been feeling the pain of sky-high gas prices and historically high levels of inflation in recent months.

But when he was asked Monday whether relief or tax breaks would be included in the House budget that will be fully unveiled Wednesday, Mariano said simply, “no.” House Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz elaborated.

“No, I think we’re very clear that we feel that the revenue growth that we’ve seen here is an opportunity to reinvest for FY 23,” Michlewitz, a Democrat from Boston’s North End, said after he, Mariano and other representatives toured a child care center and announced the early education investments in the House budget. “There’s gonna be other pieces of the budget that come out on Wednesday that you’re gonna see of reinvesting in other sectors of our economy.”

Legislative leaders have already punted the deadline for a committee recommendation on Baker’s $700 million tax relief proposal until May 4, after the House budget debate, but Mariano was mum Monday when asked if tax relief could advance through the House in its own piece of legislation.

“It could be, it could be. Maybe,” the speaker said.

Last week, when the Department of Revenue announced that it had collected $427 million more than it was expecting in March, Baker tweeted that “it’s clear that hardworking families, seniors and low-income residents deserve a break” and urged the Legislature to take up his tax relief proposal. – Colin A. Young/SHNS | 4/11/22 3:18 PM