Massachusetts is at a crossroads. Governor Maura Healey just released her fiscal year 2026 budget, and if you thought last year’s spending was bad, you haven’t seen anything yet. Her budget is riddled with new and expanded taxes that will make Massachusetts even less competitive, hurting families, businesses, and driving more people out of the Commonwealth.
We’ve been here before. Year after year, Beacon Hill politicians look for new ways to take more of your hard-earned money, all while failing to rein in out-of-control spending. Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance has been fighting back against these bad policies, and with your help, we will continue to do so.
Some of the worst provisions in Healey’s budget include:
The Candy Tax – For years, Massachusetts has rightly treated candy like groceries, exempt from the sales tax. Now, Healey wants to apply the sales tax to candy, treating it like a luxury item. Just days before Valentine’s Day, she’s targeting families and businesses with a tax that will cost consumers millions per year and push more shoppers to tax-free New Hampshire. This tax is expected to cost the taxpayers $25 million each year.
The Nicotine Tax Hike – Massachusetts already has the highest cigarette smuggling rate in the country due to excessive taxation. Instead of learning from this, Healey wants to tax synthetic nicotine products like ZYN and ALP at the same high rates as tobacco, further incentivizing black-market sales and pushing more small businesses out of the state. This tax will cost taxpayers $2 million each year.
A new Prescription Drug Tax: Healey has proposed a new prescription drug tax, disguised as a "pharmacy assessment," that would charge pharmacies up to $2 per prescription to fund migrant-driven increases in MassHealth costs, ultimately increasing costs for consumers. MassFiscal Policy Director Laurie Belsito uncovered this one tucked away deep in the FY2026 budget and broke the story with the Boston Herald earlier this week. You can read that story here and their editorial opposing the new tax here.
Capping Charitable Deductions – Massachusetts voters approved the charitable tax deduction by referendum back in 2000, but Healey wants to roll back those voter-approved rights. By capping deductions, she’s discouraging philanthropy and hurting Massachusetts nonprofits. This backdoor tax hike will cost taxpayers $164 million every year.
New Municipal Option Taxes – Instead of controlling state spending, Healey wants to give cities and towns the ability to raise local taxes on hotel stays, meals, and even your vehicle! This means even more costs for Massachusetts residents and small businesses, making it more expensive to live and work here. Healey wants to raise your taxes and allow your municipal officials to raise local taxes even more!
This is all on top of a 7.2% budget increase over last year. We cannot let this happen. MassFiscal is working tirelessly to fight these tax-and-spend policies, but we need your help.
With just a few clicks, you can tell Governor Healey and your legislators that Massachusetts taxpayers have had enough. Visit our Call to Action Center here to send a message to the Governor and your local state lawmakers to tell them to STOP these new tax increases!
MassFiscal’s Call to Action campaign is the way we put pressure on State House leaders, its the way your voice is heard. Make sure to post the link to your social media pages and share it with link minded friends and family. The more pressure we put into the State House, the less successful Healey will be in her tax hike crusade.
But we can’t stop there. Our advocacy and public policy efforts depend on the support of people like you. We need your continued support to help spread the word about these reckless tax increases and continue to show the Governor that the people of Massachusetts won’t sit by as she continues to destroy our beloved Commonwealth.
After you have taken our Call to Action, can we count on your help? Please consider making your most generous contribution TODAY using the enclosed envelope. Your gift of $100, $200, $500, $1,000, $2,500, $5,000 or $10,000 will go a long way toward ensuring we have the tools we need to continue to fight back against Governor Healey’s tax and spend proposals and protect the working people and small businesses of our state. With your support, we can reach more concerned taxpayers with the simple message of stopping Governor Healey’s ambitious goal of making us into Taxachusetts once again.
If you’d prefer to donate online and make an immediate contribution, please visit: www.massfiscal.org/contribute.
As you may recall, our members and their generosity are never made public. Every dollar counts. The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance has stopped many bad policies before and with your support, we will do it again.
The hard-working people of Massachusetts deserve better than endless tax hikes and irresponsible spending. Join us in this fight and help us protect the hardworking taxpayers of our state.
Thank you for standing with us. |
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