Victories
Scheduling Law
NFIB defeated a strict scheduling proposal that would have required employers to adhere to work schedule predictions 14-21 days in advance or face financial penalties.
Healthcare Tax
NFIB was instrumental in defeating a healthcare tax in Governor Baker’s FY 2018 budget that could charge employers of 11 or more up to $2000 per year for workers who were not insured by their employer.
Challenges
Taxes
NFIB continues to fight the state attempt to expand the sales tax to include services and labor. We are also supportive of the efforts to rollback the state sales tax.
We are also continuing the fight to raise the estate tax exemption to at least $2.5 million.
NFIB is fighting a 4% income tax surcharge on incomes over $1 million which could mean a 9.1% tax rate for many small business pass-thru entities.
Minimum Wage
The state proposal would raise the minimum wage to $15/hour by increasing $1 each year until year 2022.
Paid Family and Medical Leave
The Paid Family Leave proposal would allow up to 16 weeks leave to care for a family member (Spouse, Child, Parent, Grandparent, Grandchild and Spouse Parents). The program is capped between $650-$1,000 per week and will be funded in the form of a new tax assessed on small business. The employer would then have the option to pass half the cost along to their employees.
Independent Contractor
Our unique Massachusetts law has cost our state thousands of freelancing jobs and NFIB is fighting to enact legislation to make the definition of independent contractor used by all state agencies consistent with the law in most other states and with the law applied by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue and the Internal Revenue Service.
Healthcare
Massachusetts small businesses face highest-in-the-nation healthcare prices and NFIB is committed to help lower those costs. We consistently oppose costly mandates that increase premiums for small employers and fight legislation designed to drive up overall costs.
