Here's How New MA 'Millionaire's Tax' Funds Will Be Spent

BOSTON, MA — The so-called "millionaires tax" passed by voters in November could generate as much as $2 billion in new revenue per year — and now we know what the state might do with it.

Gov. Maura Healey this week released her proposed fiscal 2024 budget, which includes a separate new Education and Transportation Fund to collect revenue from the new Fair Share income tax. Healey's proposal includes $1 billion in spending divided almost evenly between transportation and education, the two areas of spending identified by backers of the ballot measure.

The Fair Share tax — Question 1 on the November ballot — passed with about 52 percent support from voters statewide. The measure increases the state income tax from 5 to 9 percent for anyone earning over $1 million per year.

Raise Up Massachusetts, which backed Question 1, responded to Healey's proposal this week, praising the move to segregate Fair Share revenue, but criticizing the new Democratic governor for a proposed $750 million tax cut package, which includes breaks for the wealthy like eliminating the estate tax for properties valued up to $3 million (currently at $1 million).

"The governor's accompanying proposal to cut state taxes by a billion dollars each year, including nearly $400 million in tax cuts targeted at the ultrarich, would ultimately undermine the Fair Share Amendment's goals of a fairer tax system and greater investment in critical public goods," the group said in a statement.

Here's what Healey's budget plans for the Fair Share revenue:

Transportation — $490 million

• Includes $100 million for bridge repair and preservation; $181 million for MBTA capital needs, like station improvements; $5 million to study whether MBTA fares should be adjusted for income; $12.5 million for rail track work between Palmer and Pittsfield; and $6 million for regional bus systems.

Education — $510 million

• Includes $140 million for state college campus upgrades and repairs; $93 million to expand higher education financial aid; $15 million for cities and towns offering pre-kindergarten classes; and $100 million to support and expand childcare.

Healey's budget is still subject to approval in the state Legislature — and a final accounting of how much revenue Fair Share will generate. The state won't know exactly how much it will receive until the end of tax filing in April.