The highest court in Massachusetts on June 22 cleared the millionaires’ tax question. The next step will be made by the Massachusetts voters on the November ballot.

The official title for the “millionaires’ tax” is the “Fair Share Amendment,” which requires that for the domestic income over $1 million per year, the taxpayers will be adding a 4% tax.

How will it help the rest of the public, in this case, the non-millionaires like us? According to the proposed amendment:

“To provide the resources for quality public education and affordable public colleges and universities, and for the repair and maintenance of roads, bridges and public transportation, all revenues received in accordance with this paragraph shall be expended, subject to appropriation, only for these purposes.”

In both cases, the proper investments in education and public transportation will benefit the general public in multiple dimensions. According to Raise Up Massachusetts, one of the promoters of the Fair Share Amendment, while the public colleges and students are in budget, the transportation infrastructures are lacking maintenance. Nevertheless, the racial groups are hurting more than the majority groups:

“For years, Massachusetts’ communities of color have been harmed by inequitable and inadequate access to transportation and public education. Now, the pandemic has heightened these economic and racial inequities that prevent broadly shared prosperity.”

Making post-secondary education more affordable will help improve the life quality among the new generation. The public transportation can create more working opportunity in Massachusetts, as well as increasing equal access to work.

How is the introduction of the ‘Millionaire tax’ relevant to population with limited English speaking and economically disadvantaged groups in Massachusetts. Most non-profit agencies work with clients and students of diverse racial populations.  These people will be benefiting more by the tax in a better maintained state.

At the same time, the newly introduced amendment is also facing criticisms by the public.

“Once the funding is appropriated, the Legislature is free to do whatever it wishes. This amendment allows lawmakers to play a shell game and by moving money around, the Legislature could spend the new tax revenues on whatever it wants,” says Paul Diego Craney, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance.

After the comparison to the other states, Daniel Ryan, a tax partner at Sullivan & Worcester reflects his comments to the amendment:

“Should the amendment pass, there is no guarantee that state expenditures for education and transportation will increase. The education and transportation expenditures could remain the same, and the Legislature could use funds formerly allocated to those areas to fund entirely unrelated areas. This was the experience in California following the passage of a similar ballot initiative.”

There is also criticism that the raise of the tax for the higher-income groups will result in tax avoidance and leaving, which damages the economy. Yet the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University offers a different view through their newly introduced study regarding the tax code change.

According to Tufts University’s study, once the ‘Millionaire tax’ is passed, it would be collecting approximately 21,000 state taxpayers, which means less than 1% of all households in Massachusetts. They comprised 22% of the total taxable income in the state.

In answering the concern of tax avoidance and leaving, the study concludes: “Some high-income residents may relocate to other states, but the number of movers is likely to be small.” The evidence is draw by the other research in California and Spanish regions. The estimated number of leavings is 500 households, which equals to $100 million in tax revenue, “Even accounting for that, it still seems like an approach that will raise substantial revenue and in a way that advocates say it will from higher earners in a progressive way,” said Evan Horowitz, executive director of the Center for State Policy Analysis in Tufts University.

If you want to participate in the process of establishing this amendment, please follow the news, pay attention to the decision on the expenses of the tax, and vote to help enact legislation.