A ballot question that would raise taxes on the wealthiest Massachusetts residents was approved by lawmakers today for a statewide vote in 2022, almost four years after the popular proposal was delayed by a ruling from the state’s highest court.
Taxpayers of all incomes currently pay Massachusetts 5 cents for each dollar they earn.
The Fair Share Amendment would almost double the state’s tax rate on the portion of any resident’s annual income that exceeds $1 million.
A joint session of the Massachusetts Legislature voted 159-41 on Wednesday to put the proposed tax up for a popular vote next year.
State Reps. Christopher Markey of Dartmouth and Paul Schmid of Westport, Democrats whose districts include parts of New Bedford, voted in opposition.
Nine other legislators from the South Coast supported the amendment, including State Rep. Tony Cabral of New Bedford. He said at a rally on Tuesday that the new tax would apply to just four of the city’s residents.
“We probably could name those four, right?” Cabral said. “But we’re not going to name them today. We just want them to pay their fair share.”
Statewide, about 20,000 residents reported earning more than $1 million per year during 2018, the most recent year the Department of Revenue made data available.
Supporters and critics alike agree the new tax would raise more than a billion dollars each year — money the amendment specifies must be spent on education and transportation.
A previous effort to raise taxes on multimillionaires seemed poised to succeed, with several polls suggesting support from more than 75 percent of voters. But a lawsuit from business groups led to a ruling from Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court that the ballot measure violated the state’s constitution.
The legislature’s vote on Wednesday was one of the last steps required to rewrite the constitution to protect the ballot question from similar lawsuits.
The question is set to appear on ballots in the November 2022 election. If approved by voters, it would take effect the following January.
Ben Berke is the South Coast Bureau Reporter for The Public’s Radio. He can be reached at bberke@thepublicsradio.org.
