The Healey Administration has proposed raising the estate tax exemption to $3 million. They tie this proposal to worries about Massachusetts losing population. I’m having trouble wrapping my head around this theory. We know that many people leave our state because they have problems finding affordable housing and child care. This certainly leads to population loss and lowered economic activity. But a few wealthy elders moving to avoid estate taxes ? Is that supposed to be a significant cause of lower population growth? That seems hard to take seriously.
Our current estate tax helps fund state programs. Removing this source of state revenue, which could help address our housing and child care problems, seems like a move in the wrong direction. We Massachusetts voters just passed the Fair Share amendment which seeks to tax wealthy residents who can best afford it. Is the governor seeking to do the opposite — tax breaks for the wealthy at the expense of everyone else?
Brooks Ballenger
Amherst