Data Shows Broad Opposition to Proposed Housing Tax

The Fiscal Alliance Foundation, today released the results of a poll conducted on the proposed hike of the Massachusetts Real Estate Excise Tax.

“Given the prohibitively high cost of housing in the Commonwealth, the Foundation felt this would be a great issue to explore and gather some data on,” commented Paul Diego Craney, an advisor to the Fiscal Alliance Foundation’s Board and spokesman for the organization.

On January 4, the Fiscal Alliance Foundation filed an Amicus Brief with the United States Supreme Court in support of a request for appeal by the plaintiff’s in the case 1A Auto v. Sullivan. 

The brief was written by Tad Heuer, partner at Foley Hoag in Boston, and is the most comprehensive study ever done on the union loophole.

On December 6th, 2018 the state office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) held a public hearing on the future of the Union Loophole in Massachusetts.

What is the Union Loophole exactly? In Massachusetts, for-profit businesses cannot give money to political candidates, committees, and parties at all—not directly, and not indirectly through a political action committee (PAC). But unions—including unions from outside the state—can give up to $15,000 to a single candidate and can also create political action committees to give even more. That makes Massachusetts one of six states that ban businesses—but not unions—from giving to parties, committees, and candidates.