Dear State Leaders –

As committed Bay Staters who represent large and small businesses collectively employing tens of thousands of Massachusetts residents, we want the Commonwealth to thrive and we hope to work with you to achieve that goal. As business leaders, we feel compelled, however, to express alarm at tax proposals that we believe would both be harmful to overall state employment and break with historical precedents — and we respectfully urge the legislature to refrain from initiating any tax increase.

There are currently before the legislature numerous statutory and even constitutional proposals to raise taxes and fees on Massachusetts businesses. We believe that the legislature must move in a different direction and refocus its attention on creating the premises for an economic recovery that will support robust job creation for the Bay State’s working men and women.

We believe that the legislature should adopt a do-no-harm approach to Massachusetts’ post-pandemic economic recovery.

At the start of 2020, just a year ago, the Massachusetts economy was the envy of the Northeast and much of the nation. More of our residents were working than ever before. Individuals and families across the Commonwealth benefitted from historically low unemployment rates that made skilled workers in high demand, provided stronger wages and expanded economic opportunity.

Growing economies at full employment generate robust tax revenues, and even without tax hikes, Massachusetts businesses and workers contributed to recurring state budget surpluses of over $1 billion. The windfall allowed the public sector to further invest in infrastructure and vital services like education, and to build an emergency fund that has not been drawn down in seven years.

Just a year later, hundreds of businesses have closed as a result of the virus and more than 300,000 people who were in the workforce in February 2020 are no longer working. State policy should stimulate, not hamper, our recovery. Additional taxes will make it harder for Massachusetts businesses to get our people back to work — especially as the adoption of remote work has lowered barriers to relocating jobs outside the state.

We are excited to get back to providing the products and services that people want and need. We are heartened to get those who are hurting — our neighbors and friends — back to work. Unemployment rates capture only a slice of the picture; many have stopped looking for work altogether. We want them back working, productive, able to pay their mortgages, rents and bills, and saving for the future.

We appreciate the legislature’s support of our employees at a time of duress, just as we applaud the decision by legislative leaders to lighten the burden of unemployment insurance rate hikes on Massachusetts businesses.

Many surprises await us in 2021 and 2022. Listening intently to the Biden administration’s announcements, we expect significant changes in regulations and tax policy for both individuals and businesses.

With all these changes, what we need most to get people back to work is stability and predictability, including stable state tax policies. The influx of federal money from COVID relief legislation can help avoid the potentially devastating impacts of state tax increases on Massachusetts’ already fragile economy. It is worth noting that the Commonwealth was due to receive $8.3 billion in federal relief in 2021 and 2022, even prior to the recently enacted $1.9 trillion federal stimulus law.

We urge you to make getting Massachusetts back to work your top priority. Jobs enhance the well-being of families across Massachusetts. They are a source of dignity and hope. Jobs and prosperity are what will bring us back to being the envy of the Northeast.

As always, the business community hopes to work in partnership with you as you chart a course toward recovery. We firmly believe that dialogue between the public and private sectors is the best way to arrive at policies that benefit all Massachusetts residents.

Respectfully,