Bay State News

Governor Maura Healey has refiled legislation that would permit municipalities to increase local option taxes on meals, occupancy, and vehicles. Despite her previous emphatic denial of considering tax increases with the words “Hell no. No, no, no, no, no,” this move echoes an identical bill from the last session that did not advance through the House and Senate.

The proposed legislation, known as the Municipal Empowerment Act, includes several changes. It suggests increasing the local option meals tax from 0.75% to 1%, raising the local option occupancy tax from 6% to 7% (and from 6.5% to 7.5% in Boston), and introducing a new annual tax up to 5% on a vehicle's value.

Currently, 251 communities impose the local option meals tax while 217 municipalities have adopted the local option occupancy tax. Local elected officials across areas like Easthampton, Holyoke, and New Bedford have shown support for Governor Healey’s plan as a means to enhance local revenues.

However, opposition remains strong from organizations such as NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business). Christopher Carlozzi, NFIB’s Massachusetts state director, voiced continued opposition on SouthCoast Now radio program during an interview starting at the 19-minute mark.

In addition to opposing the tax hikes, NFIB is also advocating for unemployment insurance reforms in response to Massachusetts’ UI error that left employers covering a $2.1 billion cost. Carlozzi further elaborated on this issue in an opinion piece published by Commonwealth Beacon.