Tax Policy Study 4/8/2008

Beyond loopholes: BHI study suggests simplifying and lowering business taxes to 5.3%

"The BHI report provides a worthy template for a business tax code that combines a significantly lower rate with a set of rules that are consistent and equitable."
Worcester Telegram & Gazette 4/14/08

BOSTON - Massachusetts business tax laws are a hodgepodge of poorly-conceived measures that violate the most fundamental principles of tax equity and efficiency. By taxing all business entities similarly and adopting unitary reporting, single-sales-factor apportionment, along with other proposed reforms, the Commonwealth could cut the corporate tax rate to 5.3% and achieve approximate revenue neutrality. The Beacon Hill Institute details these reforms in its new study, Business Taxes in Massachusetts: Toward Fundamental Reform, released today. Details

Full study PDF
Press Release PDF

Worcester Telegram & Gazette Editorial: 4/14: Keep it siimple: Restore equity, consistency to state tax code

Boston Globe Op-Ed 4/16: Tax Reform? We got tinkering

Labor Policy Study 2/7/2008
New study takes aim at federal prevailing wage law; Inflated wage measures cost taxpayers $8.6 billion annually

(BOSTON) - A new study released today by the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University (BHI) finds that biases in the measurement of the federal “prevailing wage” add 22% to the cost of labor on public construction projects and 9.91% to overall construction costs. As a result, taxpayers pay $8.6 billion a year more for public construction projects than they would have to pay if unbiased measures were used.

The federal government, 32 states and the District of Columbia require the payment of a prevailing wage for all workers employed directly on site for government-funded construction projects over a certain dollar threshold. Adopted by Congress in 1931, the Davis-Bacon Act (DBA) enforces the prevailing wage at the federal level and serves as the basis for prevailing wages in the states.

More

Press Release PDF

Full Report

A hub of competition and excellence: Boston remains highly competitive ranking 2nd in latest Metro Area Index

BOSTON – For the second consecutive year, the Boston metropolitan area ranked second in a measure of interstate economic competitiveness as developed by the Beacon Hill Institute at Suffolk University. In the latest Metro Area Competitiveness Report released today, Boston is second to Salt Lake City. MORE

Metro Area Competitiveness Report

Press Release with rankings (PDF)

Full Report (PDF)