Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey is putting her tax relief campaign into overdrive with a new ad blitz aimed at showing voters just how much they stand to save this filing season. According to The Boston Herald, Healey's fresh-out-the-gate commercial, which debuted earlier today, highlights the tax cuts she managed to get through the Legislature —a financial feat her predecessor, Charlie Baker, couldn't deliver on.
Healey's tax agenda slices through an assortment of levies that dig deep into the pockets of Massachusetts residents, from bumping the dependent and child care credits to trimming the bite out of short-term capital gains taxes. These cuts, set to roll out for tax year 2023, aren't just pennies in the piggy bank; they represent a cool $1 billion in relief for Bay Staters, as The Boston Globe reported, her boasting measures ranging from the doubled "senior circuit breaker" tax credit to a heightened threshold for the estate tax, the changes are also aimed at keeping the cost of living in check, while providing incentives for businesses to innovate and grow locally, and they should save taxpayers an estimated $561 million this fiscal year alone; with expectations that this sum will eventually ratchet up to just over $1.02 billion by fiscal year 2027.
"Tax Day is in less than one month," Healey says in a video posted along with the ad, "That means our new cuts will be at work, representing $1 billion in savings for taxpayers. That's a big deal for the seniors who will have to worry a little less about the bills. It's a big deal for families, for renters, commuters, homeowners, small businesses, and so many more," she stated in a message that has been circulating among voters. Striking a chord of fiscal empathy and responsibility, Healey reasserts her stance that "government should be there to make life easier, not harder," underpinning her commitment with tax cuts that soften the squeeze of living and working in the Commonwealth.
Many of the specifics in the new law, like the increase of the dependent child tax credit from a modest $180 to a solid $310 for 2023, and then to $440 after that, aim directly at giving families more breathing room—a sentiment echoing Healey's promise during the campaign trail to "cut taxes" and prioritize the state's "economic health," which she deemed her top priority in a gubernatorial debate, and just after winning the election, ensuring that tax reform would be her very first act, Healey told The Boston Globe.
