The Raise Up Massachusetts coalition, which Local 888 is a member of, has kicked off the campaign to get the Fair Share Amendment, sometimes known as the millionaire’s tax, approved. It’s now set for the November 2022 ballot. The proposed state tax, on incomes above $1 million, would go toward transportation and public education.
“The $2 billion that the Fair Share Amendment would raise annually is crucial to meeting the state’s needs in transportation and the schools,” Local 888 President Tom McKeever said. “Only with the amendment can we improve the conditions of the state’s roads and bridges along with service on the MBTA and other public transit systems,”
The measure would amend the Massachusetts Constitution to create an additional tax of 4 percent on annual incomes above $1 million.
On the issue of fairness, Raise Up Massachusetts said that, “for years, the highest-income households in Massachusetts — those in the top 1 percent — have paid a smaller share of their income in state and local taxes than any other income group. They’ve also benefited from repeated federal tax cuts.”
The state Legislature’s Constitutional Convention recently gave a final approval to putting the amendment before the voters.
Raise Up, with the help of SEIU Local 888 members, had gotten such a measure approved for the 2018 ballot. But the state’s Supreme Judicial Court rejected the ballot question, over its wording, as unconstitutional. The ruling came after business groups opposed to the amendment sued.
For more on the Fair Share Amendment, see https://www.raiseupma.org/fair-share-amendment-2022/.