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Massachusetts remains a venture capital powerhouse amid cost-driven declines in business formation and private sector jobs AT A GLANCE: BOSTON – Massachusetts remains one of the nation’s leading innovation economies, attracting significant venture capital and ranking third nationally in business research and...

This month's edition of The House Call breaks down results from the Census Bureau's 2025 Characteristics of New Housing Survey, including affordability, amenities, and production. It also describes the Massachusetts court case that stopped a rent control petition from appearing before voters this fall.

BOSTON – On the heels of last week’s unprecedented state Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) decision removing a widely supported income-tax reduction measure from the November ballot, a new Pioneer Institute study finds that Massachusetts taxes a far larger share of lower- and middle-income households' earnings compared to red and blue competitor states. The Commonwealth's personal exemption remains at just $4,400 for single filers and $8,800 for married couples filing jointly—levels that have not changed since 2008 and have declined in inflation-adjusted value by 55 percent. If rates had been adjusted for inflation, they would have saved tax filers an additional $861 million in 2025. Current rates shield far less income from Massachusetts taxpayers than many competing and neighboring states.

Massachusetts may be known for extensive public spending, but that did not prevent it from getting a “C” on the 2025 Infrastructure Report Card published by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Infrastructure problems have plagued Massachusetts since well before the pandemic, and the past several years have made maintaining and improving the systems much more difficult for many metropolitan centers in the US. Pioneer Institute’s DataLabs platform yields some insight into persistent infrastructure quality concerns with Massachusetts’ transportation network. For context, Massachusetts ranked 38th nationally, with only 74.3% of its roads in acceptable condition, compared to the national average of 81.2%. Massachusetts also ranks 4th highest in the share of bridges in poor condition. These rankings reflect longstanding infrastructure issues that have become increasingly expensive to address post-pandemic.

Today’s ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is a serious disappointment for Commonwealth families struggling under one of the highest tax and cost burdens in the nation. The Court’s decision rests on a drafting error in the Attorney General’s summary of...

Boston – A new Pioneer Institute report finds that a mismatch between who lives in Massachusetts and the housing being built is squeezing two generations at once: young families who cannot get into a house, and seniors who cannot downsize. Local land use rules often make it difficult to build small, reasonably priced, and low-maintenance homes, despite a growing need for them as the population ages and average household sizes continue to shrink.

As Massachusetts lawmakers consider proposals that would make it more difficult for citizens to place questions before voters, Pioneer Institute is urging caution. Pioneer Institute believes that policy change should occur primarily through the legislative process. However, the initiative petition process remains an important safety valve when citizens believe elected officials are not addressing their concerns.

Pioneer Institute applauds the Healey Administration’s proposal to reduce the LLC filing fee from $500 to $100 and discount annual LLC fees during the early years of a new business. These changes remove two unnecessary barriers facing entrepreneurs and small business owners looking to launch and grow in Massachusetts. We believe that it is crucial that state leaders build on these proposals to address the Commonwealth’s economic malaise, which started with the pandemic.

BOSTON – The size of the state workforce reached an all-time high in 2025, and a new Pioneer Institute study recommends implementing an attrition program that would reduce the number of positions under the governor’s authority by 5,000 and save taxpayers $1.5 billion over five years by backfilling three of every four positions that are vacated.

Last week, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation (MTF) released a “Bulletin” announcing its opposition to the tax cut ballot initiative. Odd for a taxpayers foundation to oppose a reduction in taxes. Even odder, however, was the Bulletin’s lack of concern about the Commonwealth’s current economic climate: dismal business formation, job losses, and weakening economic growth across the state.