🤑 Tax relief on the brain

It's Wednesday, Boston.

☀️ To celebrate this warm stretch, here’s a running list of some of the best patios in the Boston area to capitalize on this week. Enjoy!

👀 What’s on tap today:

• A four-day work week?

• Nonbinary marathon runners

• Seaport Sweat returns

Up first...

POLITICS

Battle of the tax plans

Mass.’ reputation for stubbornly high taxes is trying hard for a rebrand. House leaders dropped their tax relief package on Tuesday, and overall, it’s pretty similar to Gov. Healey’s proposal. Both plans put millions back into the pockets of families, renters, seniors — and yes, wealthy residents. But they’re not entirely the same.

Here are some ways the plans differ:

❤️ CHILD AND DEPENDENT TAX CREDIT

House’s plan: It would combine the child care and dependent care tax credits into one $600 credit that can be used for each qualifying dependent. Plus, it would eliminate the current cap on all dependents. The plan would phase in over the course of three years and would cost $165 million in the first year and $487 million once fully implemented.

Healey’s plan: It’s virtually the same as above, however, Healey’s plan offers the full $600 credit in the first year, rather than phasing in.

💰 ESTATE TAX

House’s plan: To give Mass. a competitive edge, the House’s plan would push the estate tax threshold from $1 million to $2 million and only tax an estate’s value exceeding $2 million (currently, a whole estate is taxed).

Healey’s plan: Her plan would essentially eliminate the tax on estates valued at $3 million or less by offering a tax credit of up to $182,000.

💸 SHORT-TERM CAPITAL GAINS

House’s plan: Business leaders have long lobbied for reforming the state’s capital gains tax, and Beacon Hill is clearly listening. The House plan proposes lowering the tax rate on short-term capital gains from 12% to 5% over the course of two years (it would drop to 8% in the first transition year).

Healey’s plan: It’s basically the same as above, with no phasing in. The rate would just drop from 12% to 5%.

⭐ BONUS

Remember the extra tax refund you got last year? The House is looking to tweak Chapter 62F, the law that triggered that. Long story short: under the current law, if the state takes in revenue above a certain threshold, it’s required to return that excess to taxpayers. The payouts are currently “proportional based,” meaning if you paid more in state income taxes, you got more money back. The House bill proposes making the payouts an equal amount per taxpayer. And it also pitches raising the threshold that triggers the law in the first place.

📝 NEXT STEPS

The House will bring their plan to the floor for a vote on Thursday, following the release of the chamber’s fiscal 2024 budget proposal. The Senate still has to weigh in. One thing is certain: We’re sure to see some rigorous back-and-forth before the final bill makes its way up to Healey.

You can read more about both tax plans here.

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

💼 A four-day work week could be in your future. Two Mass. lawmakers filed legislation this week that would create a voluntary program allowing businesses to transition employees to a four-day work week without reducing their pay. If the bill passes, all employers participating in the pilot would have to report their findings to further study the impact of a shorter work week on Mass. residents. In return, the employers would qualify for a tax credit. So if you like what you’re reading, call your legislator to make it happen!

😬 Mass. employers have bad vibes about the economy. At least that’s according to the latest Business Confidence Index from the Associated Industries of Mass. The March index was only 51.5 on a 100-point scale. For context, that’s two points lower than the previous month and nearly six points lower from the same time last year. The culprit? The same stuff you’re probably dealing with: jobs, interest rates, banking, and especially interest rates. And employers are starting to feel like the soft landing of the economy the Feds promised will be harder than expected.

🏃 27 nonbinary athletes are running the Boston Marathon this year. The BAA announced last fall that the 2023 Boston Marathon will include a nonbinary division, allowing all runners to register in a division that matches their gender identity. This year’s inaugural division includes 27 runners, one of whom is a Boston resident. In addition to the city presenting the inaugural “Fastest Bostonian” award to the Boston man and woman who finish the race first, they’ll also recognize the local nonbinary athlete making history in the new division.

🏋️ Seaport Sweat is coming back! Boston’s largest free outdoor workout series will return for its eighth season starting May 1 on the Seaport Common. This year’s series offers over 100 free classes spanning tons of formats, including HIIT, yoga, bootcamp, and strength-training, to name a few. All classes will be held on the Seaport Common every Monday through Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 10 a.m. Classes will run through Sept. 30. You can see the full instructor lineup here.

ONE LAST THING

This old Dunkin’ cup

What’s inside Tom Silva’s brain? Dunkin’.

Along with his carpentry skills, “This Old House” carpenter Tom Silva is an active and funny TikToker. He recently hopped on a trend showing off what the inside of his truck looks like.

In the TikTok, Tom climbs into the front seat and sweeps a massive pile of empty Dunks cups and bags off the passenger side while a voice from a trending sound says: “They say that the inside of your car is a perfect representation of the inside of your brain.”

But make sure to look closely at the video to see if you can spot a copy of “The Midnight Ride Of Paul Revere” inexplicably buried under the Dunkin’ empties.

🍩 Thanks for reading! Same Tom, same.

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