MA Senate to unveil budget, could include tax relief

BOSTON — Happening Tuesday, the Senate will release its version of the state’s budget—and there could be some relief coming to taxpayers. That is something Governor Charlie Baker has been pushing since he introduced his budget at the beginning of the year.

In the Senate’s nearly $50 billion budget, it’s expected to include $2 million to expand abortion access, according to The Boston Herald. The House already passed its version of the budget and called for $500,000 in abortion access, but the recent leaked Supreme Court decision seems to have lawmakers seeking more funding.

The Senate’s plan also could also reportedly contain tax breaks which the House’s version doesn’t. Governor Baker has been pushing for relief for residents hit hard by the pandemic and inflation.

“We’re not talking a few people here, you add up the number of proposals we’re focused on its millions of people here in the Commonwealth who are really struggling at a time when the state has an astonishing amount of resources and should be making that available and giving some of that back to them,” said Governor Baker at a speaking event last week. “They earned it.”

The governor’s tax relief plan is estimated to cost the state around $700 million. While that is a lot of money, the state just reported a $2 billion surplus in tax revenue for the month of April.

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