A new stimulus check is on the way in Massachusetts, with legislators in the Massachusetts State Legislature announcing on Thursday a plan to send $250 and $500 checks to residents across the state.
In a joint statement from House Speaker. Ronald Mariano and Senate President Karen E. Spilka, Massachusetts’s legislators said that residents would receive checks based on their income level. The money is likely to come from the state government’s $3.6 billion surplus from the last fiscal year, as reported by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.
It comes after reports that residents across the state were hoping for “inflation relief” from the government. Residents told WWLP how they believe the state government should keep the stimulus coming, and that the minimum wage should be increased to cover the cost of food and energy.
The New Stimulus Check: Who Is Eligible?
Under the plan, eligible recipients would receive a one-time $250 check as a single taxpayer, while couples who file together will receive a single check of $500.
To qualify for the payments, taxpayers must have earned at least $38,000 and less than $100,000 in 2021. Couples earning more than $150,000 combined will not be eligible for the payment, nor will individual taxpayers earning at least $100,000.
The minimum income requirement means that only those who paid a sufficient amount of tax to the state will receive money back.
If you are eligible for the payment, which the state government will know based on your tax return, you should receive the payment before September 30.
Stimulus Checks are Popular But Will They Work?
The statement cited the rising cost of food, gas, and consumer goods as a reason for giving taxpayers another round of checks.
“Whether it is the rising price of gas, groceries, or summer clothes for kids, the Massachusetts Legislature has heard loud and clear that increased costs due to inflation have cut into family budgets,” it reads. “That is why we are proud to announce that the Massachusetts Legislature will act to establish the Taxpayer Energy and Economic Relief Fund, through which economic relief rebates for individuals and families will be issued.”
Not everybody agrees with the proposal, however. Paul Diego Craney, a spokesperson for Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, told The Center Square that the move was simply a “poorly thought-out gimmick” being done just before an election. Craney said that more meaningful relief measures would be “broad-based” and “focused on lowering taxes on the people they most affect.”
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
