FY 2021 tax revenues are projected to fall by $6 billion or 19.3 percent from the January 2020 benchmark. Massive layoffs push the unemployment rate to nearly 22 percent in Q4 FY 2020, causing withholding taxes to decline by $1.9 billion. Shutting...

In a letter to Senate Ways and Means Chairmen Michael Rodrigues, Aaron Michlewitz and Administration and Finance Secretary Michael Heffernan, the chief fiscal 2021 budget planners, MTF President Eileen McAnneny outlined the array of options available...

MTF’s new analysis highlights the implications of our revised forecast on the MBTA, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), and other purposes supported by dedicated tax revenue. We estimate that compared to the original consensus...

MTF has revised its FY 2021 tax revenue forecast to include the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We project a decline of $4.4 billion or 14.1% from the January 2020 benchmark. The forecast assumes new virus cases peak in April, abate in June, and...

This preliminary report addresses some of the economic impacts from the most recent data and explores issues that will shape the scale and duration of this global pandemic. While this report is focused primarily on the national economic impacts,...

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, Senate President Karen Spilka, and Speaker Robert DeLeo announced the corresponding change for the state tax filing deadline on March 27, 2020.The policy change impacts the Commonwealth of Massachusetts very...

BOSTON – On March 10, 2020, Governor Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts regarding the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and has ordered sweeping measures to slow the outbreak.

This analysis describes the steps taken by the governor to balance the budget compared to MTF’s initial projection of an $880 million gap between revenue and spending in fiscal 2021. It also describes ten tough choices confronting legislators as they...

Governor Charlie Baker published his budget recommendation for state fiscal year 2021 on January 22, 2020. The plan, also known as House 2 (H.2), is the sixth budget proposal developed by Gov. Baker and the second since his re-election in November...

After two consecutive fiscal years of above-trend tax growth and manageable spending increases, an initial analysis of the state’s finances suggests policymakers will face tough choices as they begin budget development for state fiscal year 2021. A...