Question 1 supporters blast opponents in TV ad
The ‘millionaires tax’ debate is heating up
Supporters of Question 1 — the ballot measure in this November’s election better known as the “millionaires tax” — are calling for local television stations to stop airing a new ad from opponents focused on home sales.
During a virtual press conference Monday, members of Fair Share for Massachusetts lambasted an ad from the Coalition to Stop the Tax Hike Amendment, which claims that “Question 1 would nearly double the income tax rate on tens of thousands of Massachusetts residents and retirees when they sell their homes.”
Letters are being sent to WCVB, WFXT, WBTS, WHDH, WBZ, and Comcast cable to demand they remove the ad from their airwaves, according to Andrew Farnitano, a spokesperson for Fair Share for Massachusetts.
“The television stations have a duty to protect their viewers, including homeowners and seniors, from the outright fear-mongering and lies being aired by the ‘no’ side,” said Fair Share campaign manager Jeron Mariani.
The spat captures a crucial question in the debate over the ‘millionaire’s tax:’ How many people will actually pay it?
Millions of dollars have flown into the campaigns both for and against the measure, which would amend Massachusetts’ current 5 percent flat income tax to add a 4 percent surcharge on those earning above $1 million. While supporters of the tax have out-raised opponents — thanks to heavy donations from teachers unions — last week, for the first time, the Coalition to Stop the Tax Hike Amendment out-raised Fair Share Massachusetts, raking in $3.7 million in a two-week period.
The opposition ad in question, released on YouTube on Oct. 22 and slated to air on local TV, says that “Question 1 would nearly double the income tax rate on tens of thousands of Massachusetts residents and retirees when they sell their home,” citing a January study from Tuft’s University’s Center for State Policy Analysis.
“That’s just not fair,” said Jackie Corriveau, a homeowner and a member of the Massachusetts Republican State Committee, in the video.
While the tax rate would nearly double if Question 1 passes, it would only do so on annual income over $1 million. Anything less than that would stay at the current 5 percent. In 2019, 21,000 state taxpayers claimed incomes of $1 million or more, about 0.6 percent of all
taxpayers in Massachusetts, according to the Tufts study. It does not specify how many of these people notched that dollar figure through a home sale.
According to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, a think tank that supports Question 1, less than 2 percent of Massachusetts homes sold in 2021 recorded a gain of over $1 million. Home sellers are also eligible for a deduction of capital gains on their primary residence — $250,000 for a single person and $500,000 for a married couple — and various other deductions that can chisel down their taxable income from selling a house.
“In other words, 99 percent of us who go to sell a home in the future — a future after Question 1 has been passed — are highly unlikely to pay a penny more,” said La-Brina Almeida, a policy analyst and development coordinator at Mass Budget, during the press conference.
The opposition side doubled down, calling Question 1 an “illconceived amendment [that] will capture far more than our state’s highest earners,” according to an emailed statement from Dan Cence, a spokesperson for the Coalition to Stop the Tax Hike Amendment.
“For the vast majority of Massachusetts residents, their home is their greatest financial asset,” said Cence. “These retirees are relying on the sale of their home, business, and other assets as their nest egg, and will need to rethink their long-term financial planning if Question 1 were to pass.”
(Evan Horowitz, executive director of the Tufts center that issued the study that the Stop the Tax Hike Amendment cited, also weighed in, sending an email to the Globe disputing their interpretation, saying: “I do not think our work supports their claim about the tax rate on home sales — or even addresses it directly.”)
Meanwhile, opponents added another notable voice to their campaign Monday, when the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants released a statement criticizing the tax proposal for impacting one-time millionaires who get a windfall from the sale of a house or business, and raising concern over whether the extra revenue will actually go toward education and transportation.
”There are many worthy discussions necessary to make the Massachusetts tax code fairer and more equitable for individuals and businesses across the Commonwealth,” the statement from MassCPAs said. “Question 1 does not accomplish that endeavor.”
In a state where housing wealth is a nest egg for many older residents, both sides have focused on home sales in their TV ads. One ad from Fair Share for Massachusetts featured a retiree saying, “even when we sell our house, we won’t have to pay more,” but he did not specify just how much he plans to sell his house for.