Instead of making healthcare more affordable, H.R. 3962 imposes more costs through its expensive employer mandates, punitive payroll taxes and a new government-run program.
To truly jumpstart our economy and create jobs, we've got to lower the crushing cost of doing business in Massachusetts, especially for small business. The rising cost of healthcare, the tax burden and a myriad of Massachusetts-only regulations make our state one of the least friendly in the nation to entrepreneurs and job providers.
Bad economic news continues to wreak havoc with the FY 10 state budget now just four months old but showing at least a $600 million deficit despite (or may be in part because of) a 25% hike and expansion of sales taxes. Incredibly, the legislature may be considering increasing taxes again to improve revenues to the state.
We need your help to stop legislation that would establish a paid sick leave mandate on Massachusetts' small businesses. Legislation currently under consideration on Beacon Hill will impose a one-size-fits-all mandate on all businesses in Massachusetts and have a huge impact on the cost of doing business in the Bay State.
In the wake of the controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2005, most states have taken action to restrict governmental takings of private property for economic development, commercial enterprise, or private use.
NFIB members have reported to the state office that Massachusetts Department of Revenue agents are making spot checks on local businesses across the state in search of sales tax certificates.
Mandated family leave programs significantly impact productivity and operations in small businesses where one employee constitutes 20% of the workforce in many small businesses and benefits cover nearly one quarter of the year.
On March 1, 2010, all Massachusetts businesses will be required by state regulation to have a written plan to protect their customers' personal information and to implement the plan.
Proposals to freeze rates for providers, control premiums paid by small businesses, and allow small businesses to form group buying cooperatives have renewed focus on the cost of health insurance for small business owners and workers.
During the first two weeks of September, we testified in support of legislation on behalf of two key industry groups: farms and auto repair shops
Use of cell phones is an important part of doing business for many small business owners. Future legislation may focus on cell phone use and texting while driving, and small business owners should remain alert to those proposals.
NFIB head says president can choose to stand with small businesses who need healthcare reform.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the MA Department of Revenue cannot force a New Hampshire retailer to collect sales or use taxes on tires sold to Massachusetts residents.
Local unemployment statistics will likely show higher unemployment rates in certain hard hit areas, like New Bedford, Fitchburg and Pittsfield.
The surge in unemployment and resulting stress to the state's unemployment insurance fund means UI premiums will likely increase an average of $200 per employee per year.
The new rules were written after business groups complained about prior drafts that would have required most small businesses to make expensive computer changes to improve security.
With the number of jobs down more than 100,000 in the past year, Massachusetts' unemployment rate was 8.6% in June. The slowdown has left the state with a FY 2009 deficit of $180 million and a July shortfall of $24 million.
The Legislature has left on its traditional August recess from formal sessions but the legitimate concerns of small business owners about state government affecting their businesses remain
We held an Area Action Council meeting July 30 on Cape Cod to discuss the troubling issue of healthcare costs for small businesses in Massachusetts. The keynote speaker was former Harvard Pilgrim CEO Charlie Baker.
As the unemployment rate continues to increase, the state’s revenues will continue to lag as well, creating more and more budget problems for the state and for cities and towns. Lesson from 1989-90: the state can never increase broad-based taxes enough to balance its budget in a recession; the increased taxes deepen the recession statewide rather than lessen its impact. Will they ever learn?
After months of posturing and preening, Governor Patrick claimed victory on reforms and signed into law a $27.04 billion spending plan for FY2010. The budget enacted was $1 billion less than the governor had proposed in January, and 3% less than the budget signed at this time last year--but it also contained more than $1 billion in new taxes, including a 25% increase in the sales tax.
“Employers have the responsibility to protect their businesses from loss, as well as the safety of their employees and often the general public when making hiring decisions. Legislation sealing the criminal records of job applicants would take away the tools required to fulfill that responsibility.
A spending blueprint for FY 2010 is now on the governor’s desk and is awaiting his signature and/or vetoes. The Legislature easily approved the $27.4 billion plan that contains real spending reductions for social services and local aid from FY09 levels, $1.5 billion in federal stimulus money, $200 million in rainy-day account funds, and nearly $1 billion in new taxes.
Beacon Hill was rocked not only by the indictment of former Speaker DiMasi, but also by the brazenness of the allegations of financial gain. But the FY10 budget went forward as the work of the conference committee members began. As tax revenues plummet, the governor and lawmakers are scrambling to balance the state's books.
As the details of the Senate version of the FY 2010 state budget are revealed, what you don’t see can be as harmful to employers as what you do see. Lots of attention has been given to the 25 percent sales tax increase to 6.25 percent, but other budget provisions may have less obvious economic impacts for small business.
Lawmakers in favor of raising taxes in the Commonwealth are quick to point out that a tax increases will save thousands of jobs. But what those same lawmakers avoid discussing is how many jobs their tax increase will cost, because what Beacon Hill forgets from time to time is that there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
It's now the Senate’s turn to present its version of the state spending plan for FY 2010. Highlights of the Senate plan include reliance on $412 million in federal stimulus money and $561 million in state rainy day funds. With the depletion of the rainy day fund and the temporary nature of the federal money, this is almost $1 billion in non-recurring revenues. Total state spending year over year will decline, but by less than 10 percent.
In the budget dance of 2009, the House and Senate continue to chase the horizon in the form of the state’s declining revenues. After voting by 108-51 to amend the FY 2010 state budget to increase the state’s sales tax by 25 percent to 6.25%, the House adopted a $28 billion spending plan (adding about $600 million to the House Ways and Means budget) on a 137-19 vote.
The state’s leading small business association today urged lawmakers on Beacon Hill to reject a proposal to raise the state’s sales tax from 5 to 6 percent or more. NFIB State Director Bill Vernon said an increase would harm the state’s business climate, particularly in northern Massachusetts, where consumers can cross the border to avoid paying sales tax.
The Massachusetts House of Representatives will vote next week on budget amendments that would increase the state sales tax from 5 to 6 percent – a 20 percent increase. Another amendment proposes to increase the tax to 7 percent. Take action and tell lawmakers how this tax increase would impact your business.
The House of Representatives will debate the FY 2010 state budget next week. NFIB is fighting efforts to raise the sales tax from 5 to 6 percent—a 20 percent increase—or even to 7 percent. Proposals are also afoot to expand the sales tax to candy, sugar drinks, and alcohol; increase the current tax on restaurant meals and hotel and motel rooms; and institute a new sales tax on short-term private home rentals to provide more revenue for the state or for cities and towns. A gas tax increase will also be considered.
If you sometimes feel like there are people who want to tax everything that moves in the state and some things that don't, you may have been in the state House this week, where the Revenue Committee heard testimony on proposals to raise taxes by more than $500 million through new levies on cigarettes, soft drinks, candy, meals, alcohol, telecommunications facilities, lodging, and short-term private rental property.
The long-delayed organization of the 2009-10 session of the Massachusetts Legislature got underway last week with the appointment of chairs of committees, the assignment of members to those committees and the adoption of rules.
Bills have been filed, but no numbers are being assigned. Committee chairs have not been named, committee members have not been assigned, session rules have not been adopted, but we do have a new Speaker of the House. Chairman of the House Ways and Means committee Robert DeLeo (Winthrop) has been elected to succeed Salvatore DiMasi (Boston, North End). Amid speculation of what the change means for public policy -- casinos, meals taxes, etc. -- one thing does not change: Small business owners must continue to communicate their issues and concerns to their own state legislators.
Special NFIB member report on activism in Massachusetts, February/March 2009 edition.
A new year means a new legislative session with six new senators (including three former state representatives) and 15 new state representatives. All new legislators are Democrats, and the partisan breakdown is now 35-5 in the Senate and 144-16 in the House. All party leaders, including Speaker of the House Sal DiMasi, were re-elected. While the session may be new, the issues are similar: tax, fee, and budget issues with declining revenues due to the economy, healthcare access and costs, transportation system changes and expanded social services funded by employers. The Legislature remains a significant player but regulatory agencies are currently having a more significant impact on employer costs as new health insurance requirements and data security/privacy standards are established.
In the Dec. 3 edition, I wrote that the current MA gas tax is $0.0235 per gallon. The current Massachusetts gas tax is of course, $0.235, or 23.5 cents per gallon not 2.3 cents per gallon. An increase in the gas tax of 11 cents per gallon would increase revenues to the state from the tax by $330 million, not $7 billion as I suggested. My adding machine was malfunctioning and I thank those faithful readers who brought the errors to my attention.
"Labor unions once stood for the rights of working Americans, but those values have been cast aside in a desperate attempt to recruit more dues-paying members. Card check isn't about workers' rights, it's about dollars and cents -- for the union coffers."
A report concluded that 440,000 additional Massachusetts residents have obtained health insurance since reform started in 2006, but less than half were enrolled in private plans. 72 percent of employers in the Commonwealth offer health insurance. The increased coverage has resulted in a 38 percent reduction in the cost of caring for the uninsured with a 36 percent reduction in free care claims from hospitals and clinics. The charge to employers who do not offer insurance, which is based on the cost of the uncompensated care pool, will remain at $295 per employee.
Implementation is certain to impose costly new requirements on small businesses to ensure the protection of personal information. Prior to a legislative committee's informational hearing on the proposed new regulations this week, the administration announced that the implementation date for the new regulations would be delayed until May 1, 2009. The requirement that information stored in non-lap top computers be encrypted will be delayed until Jan. 1, 2010, as will the requirement to obtain written certification of compliance from third party vendors. Personal information stored on lap top computers must be encrypted by May 1, 2009. Details of the privacy regulation and its potential impact on your business are available on the NFIB/Massachusetts web page.
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