Skip to Content
Streetsblog Massachusetts home
Streetsblog Massachusetts home
Log In
Advocacy Opportunities

Environmental and Labor Organizations Call For Corporate Taxes To Fund Transportation

The gold-plated dome of the Massachusetts State House against a blue sky, with the Massachusetts flag flying to the right of the dome in the foreground.

The Massachusetts State House in downtown Boston.

Amid ongoing rumors of a state transportation funding bill being drafted in the Massachusetts State House, two broad coalitions of environmental justice and labor advocates have issued a detailed proposal to raise new revenues by closing corporate tax loopholes and getting a "fair share" from the large, profitable corporations that benefit most from an efficient transportation system.

In a report titled "Corporate Fair Share For Transportation," Raise Up Massachusetts and the Green Justice Coalition restate their longstanding support for a "fair share amendment," which would add four percentage points to the tax rate on individual incomes over $1 million.

The report also calls for the closure of loopholes for offshore tax havens, increasing the minimum corporate tax (which is currently only $456) for large companies, ending a narrow tax break for mutual fund companies, and better disclosure for corporate income to help policymakers evaluate the effectiveness of other tax loopholes.

The report estimates that these proposals could together generate over $2.4 billion a year, with the bulk of that new revenue coming from from the "fair share" income tax proposal.

To put that number in context, President Trump's 2017 tax law gave corporate profits a major tax windfall by cutting the federal tax rate from 35 to 21 percent; this report's authors estimate that Massachusetts companies gained a tax windfall worth $4 billion a year from those federal tax cuts.

“From the legislators I've spoken with, there's a real recognition that user fees like gas taxes and transit fares disproportionately affect working families and low-income people," said Susanna Bohme, a researcher for Community Labor United, a Green Justice Coalition member. "We need to ensure that corporations pay their fair share.”

A comparison of inflation in transit fares versus gasoline taxes, courtesy of the Transportation for Massachusetts coalition.
A comparison of inflation in transit fares versus gasoline taxes, courtesy of the Transportation for Massachusetts coalition.
A comparison of inflation in transit fares versus gasoline taxes, courtesy of the Transportation for Massachusetts coalition.

The report also specifies principles for how that new revenue should be used, with priorities given to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, making transit more affordable, and improving equity by improving transit service for lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color.

State House observers are still waiting to see a transportation funding proposal from legislative leaders after House Speaker Robert DeLeo missed a deadline to deliver a long-term plan for transportation investments last fall.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Massachusetts

Roadblocked: Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Eliminates Most Federal Funding For Allston Highway Realignment

Without a formal project agreement in place, MassDOT will receive only $8 million out of a $335 million "reconnecting communities" grant that the Biden administration had pledged.

July 10, 2025

Another Bus Lane Bites the Dust: Wu Administration Forces Chelsea, Charlestown Transit Riders to Wait In More Traffic

The change comes just weeks before the MBTA rolls out a new bus lane enforcement system, which is expected to improve bus service considerably – at least on the dwindling number of streets where dedicated bus lanes still exist.

July 8, 2025

Balanced For Now – But Beacon Hill Is Putting the T Back On the Edge of Another Fiscal Cliff

The state's final budget gives the T about $80 million less than it had planned to spend in the coming fiscal year to cover its payroll and other transit operating costs.

July 7, 2025

Ambulance Data Reveals That Boston Drivers Are 4 Times More Likely to Run Over Pedestrians From Black Neighborhoods

"Overall, residents of predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods are about four times more likely than residents of predominantly white neighborhoods to be struck as a pedestrian."

July 1, 2025
See all posts