Brookline Rep. Tommy Vitolo, Colleagues Announce Tax Reform Bill

BROOKLINE, MA — On Monday, Brookline Rep Tommy Vitolo joined colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives to announce a progressive tax reform.

The bill supports lower- and middle-income residents by increasing the senior circuit breaker tax credit, the earned income tax credit, and the child and dependent tax credit. It also provides assistance to renters and reforms the estate tax.

“This bill reforms our tax code, making it more progressive by supporting our seniors, renters, and working families,” Vitolo said in a statement. “I am grateful to Speaker Mariano and Chairs Michlewitz and Cusack for their work to put money in the hands of those who need it most.”

The legislation increases the maximum senior circuit breaker tax credit from $750 to $1,755. The senior circuit breaker allows taxpayers who are 65 years or older to receive a credit equal to the amount by which the real estate tax payment for their primary residence exceeds 10 percent of their total income.

To support renters, the rental deduction cap is raised from $3,000 to $4,000, impacting an estimated 881,000 renters across the state.

Brookline has over 10,000 seniors and over 32,000 residents living in rental housing, Vitolo said.

"With the shared goal of providing necessary economic relief to our residents this session, we are pleased to announce that House and Senate leaders have agreed to a framework for structural changes to our tax code that will reduce income inequality, make Massachusetts more competitive nationally, and lessen the crippling impact of rising prices, inflation, and economic uncertainty,” Speaker Ronald Mariano said in a statement.

The proposal also expands the earned income tax credit (EITC). Currently, Massachusetts allows state taxpayers to match up to 30 percent of the federal credit which supports low- to moderate-income workers with children. This proposal will increase that match to 40 percent. The bill will also increase the child tax credit to $31 per child while eliminating the cap of 2 or more children.

"We look forward to ironing out the final details of the taxpayer relief package, bringing it to our members for discussion and debate, and ultimately adopting this critical legislation,” Mariano said.

The estate tax is reformed by increasing the threshold to $2 million, eliminating the "cliff" effect by no longer taxing the entire estate, just the amount over the threshold, and increasing the percentage rate on estates over $5 million to 17 percent.

Lawmakers will also include the tax rebates that were announced last week. The proposal will direct one-time $250 payments to individual taxpayers who reported between $38,000 and $100,000 in income and joint filers who reported between $38,000 and $150,000 in 2021.

The House is expected to take up this legislation later this week.