Income tax rate to drop to 5.05% on Jan. 1
Tax revenues sufficient to trigger automatic reduction
(Boston Orange)麻州稅務局12月14日宣佈，麻州的B部分個人所得稅將從2019年1月1日起調降0.05個百分點，從5.10%降為5.05%。
麻州州長查理貝克(Charlie Baker)表示，經濟走強，政府管理財政細心，使麻州納稅人得享應有的紓解。州政府很高興能夠宣佈明年起，納稅人辛苦賺來的錢，可以多放一點進自己口袋。
根據麻州2002年開始執行，取代2000年11月公投所通過減稅進程的法案，一旦經過通貨膨脹調整的稅收成長達到目標，就可以調降個人所得稅0.05%，直至降到5%為止。
B部分所得稅包括工資，薪水，以及許多其他形式的收入，例如自僱所得，企業，專業及務農收入，S企業的分潤，出租個人物業的收入等。和B部分個人所得有關的稅率，也適用於其他幾個收入類別，包括利息，分紅，以及長期的資本利得等。
上一次調降個人所得稅，是2016年1月，從5.15%降為5.10%。
“A strong economy and careful management of the Commonwealth’s finances have created the conditions for Massachusetts taxpayers to get a much-deserved break,”said Governor Charlie Baker. “We are pleased that next year we will see taxpayers be able to keep more of their hard-earned money.”
“Next year the income tax rate will be the lowest it has been in decades, which will provide welcome relief to workers across the Commonwealth,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “Massachusetts taxpayers deserve the boost that this rate reduction will deliver.”
A state law enacted in 2002 provides the statutory mechanism to lower the Part B individual income tax rate, based on certain revenue milestones. The legislation replaced a tax rate reduction schedule that had passed by ballot initiative in November 2000.
“I was pleased to receive confirmation from the Department of Revenue that the revenue trigger had been met. This reflects steady revenue growth and a nice break for taxpayers,” said Administration and Finance Secretary Michael J. Heffernan.
The law provides that for each tax year in which certain inflation-adjusted baseline revenue growth requirements are met, the income tax rate will be reduced by increments of 0.05 percentage points until the rate reaches 5%.
Part B income includes wages, salary, and many other forms of income, including self-employment income; business, professional and farm income; S corporation distributions; and rental income from personal property. The rate associated with Part B income is also applied to several other income categories, including interest and dividends and most long-term capital gains.
There are five revenue tests that determine whether a rate reduction is required, beginning with growth in revenue over the previous fiscal year, and including a series of four additional growth measures. If any one of the incremental tests is not met, the rate reduction does not proceed. With DOR’s certification of the most recent revenue measure, all five tests in 2018 have now been met.
The rate reduction was last triggered on Jan. 1, 2016, when it dropped from 5.15% to 5.10%. Previous reductions included:
o Jan. 1, 2012 (rate reduced from 5.3% to 5.25%)
o Jan. 1, 2014 (rate reduced from 5.25% to 5.2%)
o Jan. 1, 2015 (rate reduced from 5.2% to 5.15%)
The state budget for Fiscal 2019 accounted for the income tax rate change, which is projected to reduce tax revenue by approximately $84 million in Fiscal Year 2019 and approximately $175 million in Fiscal Year 2020.
If revenues in 2019 are sufficient to trigger a further rate reduction, the Part B income tax rate will drop to 5% for the 2020 tax year.
