Council in the News
Massachusetts High Technology Council media coverage.
Mass. business groups push feds to speed up work permits for migrants
Many of the state’s business groups urged the Biden administration Monday to allot more federal funding to address the migrant crisis and to speed up work authorizations for migrants.
Ballot question season already at a boil
A coalition of business and education groups, who objected to the MTA-backed ballot initiative to remove the MCAS requirement for high school graduation’s certification in August, said its members are “prepared to fight this measure.”
MCAS Critics Ready To “Sprint” Toward 2024 Ballot
Attorney General Andrea Campbell ruled Wednesday that two proposed ballot questions related to the role of the MCAS exam are legally sound, keeping open the possibility that Bay State voters could decide next fall whether passing the standardized test should remain a requirement to graduate high school here.
Influential Collective Seeks To Derail MCAS Question
The Massachusetts High Technology Council was joined by over a dozen organizations and individuals, including three past chairs of the State Board of Education, in filing a memo with the Attorney General’s Office challenging the proposed ballot question to eliminate the use of the MCAS exam as a graduation requirement.
MCAS ballot question: Education groups gear up for contentious campaign
A day after the Massachusetts ballot initiative deadline, education advocates are settling in for a long, heated campaign over the petition to remove the MCAS test as a graduation requirement.
Execs discuss why Mass. ranks 49th in cost of doing business
Massachusetts High Tech Council board chairman John Lee was joined by CNBC Special Correspondent Scott Cohn in a webinar on Tuesday to discuss the CNBC’s annual “Top States for Business Rankings” and what the results mean for running a business in the Bay State.
Mass. Climbs In “States For Business” Rankings
Massachusetts moved up nine spots in CNBC’s annual America’s Top States for Business rankings this summer and the man behind the scorecard of states told the Mass. High Tech Council that he is beginning to put more emphasis on things like reproductive rights and inclusion when he ranks states.
Massachusetts Teachers Association to launch ballot campaign aimed at ending MCAS graduation requirement
The Massachusetts Teachers Association’s proposal would jeopardize the futures of Massachusetts high school graduates, endanger the state’s standing as a national leader in education, and put the state’s economy at a further competitive disadvantage.
Massachusetts education reform — some successes but lots more to do
On the 30th anniversary of the historic Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993, past chairs of the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education weigh in on what the state needs to do to make good on its commitment to equity in education.
Fight to streamline corporate taxes heats up on Beacon Hill, with some blue-chip companies opposed
One of the state’s biggest corporate tax breaks in years could be on its way. The business community is divided over how to proceed with taxing multistate companies in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts’ 6-month-old millionaire tax is already up for a change that targets married couples
There’s a $600 million-dollar question confronting lawmakers tasked with hashing out differences in House and Senate versions of tax reform: Should the state crack down on married couples filing taxes separately to skirt the state’s new millionaire tax?
Crosswinds Swirling In Tax Relief Talks
Lawmakers eyeing prompt compromise on House and Senate tax relief bills that differ in several major ways will be buffeted by competing crosswinds that seem to disagree on what, exactly, is the best way to make Massachusetts more competitive.
Face-to-face: Senate President Karen Spilka addresses some of tax relief plan’s biggest critics
Elizabeth Mahoney of the Massachusetts High Technology Council wants to ask Spilka what her plans are to improve competitiveness for state businesses. “We’re concerned,” Mahoney said.
A Year Later, Tax Relief Bills Again Up For Negotiation
Lewis at one point named a quartet of business-backed groups — the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the Mass. High Technology Council, the Pioneer Institute and “even our friends at the Mass. Taxpayers Foundation” — that he said are deploying a “false narrative” about taxes pushing people out of state.
Business leaders urge Senate to expand tax-relief plan.
Business leaders are urging lawmakers to include the tax relief in the plan, arguing that the current proposal doesn’t do enough to improve the state’s affordability. “The data shows that high-income earners are significantly contributing to the loss of wealth from the state and the Senate’s proposal does not go far enough to mitigate this outmigration.”
Boston is a good place to start a tech company. Keeping it here is another story.
Questions about the state’s competitive standing — and loss of residents to other states — have absolutely dominated the business discourse since voters approved the controversial “millionaires tax” ballot proposal in November.
Lawmakers have tried to change tax rebate law before but failed
“It’s appropriate that Mass High Tech is defending the voters’ tax cap law (Chapter 62F) as it was the partnership of Citizens for Limited Taxation led by Barbara Anderson and the Massachusetts High Technology Council under the leadership of Howard Foley that succeeded with the creation and adoption of the law,” he said.
Don’t tinker with surplus tax-rebate law
The Massachusetts High Tech Council has warned lawmakers not to alter the tax rebate law, stating such action would violate the Massachusetts constitution.
Biz groups caution against tax law update
Business groups say proposed changes to a voter-approved tax rebate law being considered by the state Legislature would be unconstitutional, signaling a possible legal fight over efforts to equally distribute excess taxes.
Some options for Massachusetts lawmakers seeking ‘fairer’ 62F tax rebate law amid legal threats
Several bills filed this session would repeal 62F entirely. Another would establish a commission to study 62F. Both options would not violate the state constitution.
Massachusetts High Tech Council slams tax rebate rewrite
The influential Massachusetts High Tech Council is warning lawmakers that altering the tax rebate law is unconstitutional and should not be adopted. The House has already headed down that road, but a memo authored at the request of the council says it’s a legal dead end.