Governor Healey bill would allow increased taxes for food, hotels and vehicles in New Bedford, Fall River and other Massachusetts communities

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey filed a bill on Monday that would allow cities and towns to increase taxes on meals, lodging, and vehicles.

Per Boston.com:

“The bill gives municipalities the option to increase their hotel, motel, and other rental tax from 6% to 7% (or half a percentage higher for Boston), and their meal tax from the set .75% to 1%. The bill would also let cities and towns increase their motor vehicle excise tax by 5%.”

As Massachusetts residents see their rents/mortgages and other necessity costs almost double since 2020, 2024 is likely to see higher property taxes and increased taxes on their vehicles, hotels, and eating out. Higher home values, increased interest rates since 2020, and a surge in migrants to Massachusetts in 2023 are mostly responsible. The Governor Healy administration estimates the cost of the state’s emergency shelter system fueled in part by new migrant arrivals will cost more than $900 million annually in fiscal 2024 and in fiscal 2025.

This higher shelter cost is due to Massachusetts having a ‘Right to Shelter’ law that provides hotels, health care, and other social services and a record surge of illegal immigration due to President Biden’s weak border policy. Per CBS News: “Border Patrol has processed more migrants who entered the U.S. illegally in December than in any other month in the agency’s history.”