Massachusetts Lawmakers Move to Change Tax Rebate Law

Massachusetts taxpayers cheered in 2022, when Beacon Hill lawmakers had to issue rebate checks due to the state collecting an unusually high amount of revenue. The rebates were required by something known as Chapter 62F.

As you might expect, those same lawmakers are attempting to repeal or alter the law requiring the rebates.

Massachusetts voters could have something to say about all of that when ballots are cast in this fall's statewide elections.

What Is Chapter 62F?

The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation (MTF) says, "Chapter 62F of the Massachusetts General Laws established a limit on annual state tax revenue collections."

"The law, passed by an initiative petition in 1986, created a process by which actual tax collections are compared to an allowable tax revenue threshold, adjusted annually on the basis of wage and salary growth in the Commonwealth," according to the MTF. "If actual collections exceed the allowable threshold, the excess revenue is returned to eligible income tax filers in amounts proportionate to filers' income taxes paid in the most recent tax year."

How the Ballot Question Would Work

State House News Service reported, "Four more ballot questions have officially cleared the necessary signatures to move forward on the path to the 2026 ballot."

SHNS said one ballot initiative "would change the limit on how much revenue the state can collect in a given year."

Get our free mobile app

According to SHNS, "The proposal would limit state revenue each year to the net amount of state revenue from the year before, increased by a rate equal to the average growth of wages and salaries in Massachusetts over the most recent three years."

What It Could Mean for Massachusetts Taxpayers

"If revenue collected by the state in a given year exceeds that limit, the excess amount would be refunded to taxpayers the following year," SHNS said.