ReportWire

Tag: government finances

  • Lawmakers urged to ‘opt out’ of federal mandates

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    BOSTON — Unions, advocates for low-income workers and other groups urged state lawmakers on Thursday to permanently “opt out” of several new federal laws enacted as part of President Donald Trump’s tax cut and policy bill, warning of the impact on the state’s coffers.

    The Legislature’s Revenue Committee is considering a proposal by Gov. Maura Healey that would delay implementation of what she described as the five “most costliest” changes in federal tax code created by Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act until next year.

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Healey urges lawmakers to approve budget

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    BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey called on lawmakers to use fiscal restraint as they consider her nearly $64 billion budget proposal amid concerns about dwindling federal support.

    During a live-streamed hearing Wednesday, the Democrat personally made a case to approve her preliminary fiscal year 2027 budget, which holds spending increases across the board at 3.9% over this fiscal year.

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Healey seeks to delay federal tax cuts

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    BOSTON — Democratic Gov. Maura Healey is seeking to blunt the impact to state coffers from changes to the federal tax code under President Donald Trump’s new tax cuts and policy law, but business groups say the move would hurt Massachusetts’ competitiveness.

    Healey has filed legislation that would delay implementation of what she described as the five “most costliest” changes in federal tax code created by Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act until next year.

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • City Council approves $447.4 million bond order to pay for construction of new high school

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    SALEM — The City Council voted unanimously Thursday night to borrow up to $447 million to pay for the construction of a new high school.

    The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) is expected to reimburse the city around 44% of the total project cost, but that percentage won’t be finalized until after the MSBA’s meeting in February. The MSBA requires communities to commit to paying up to the full amount of a new school project in order to move forward.

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    Michael McHugh can be contacted at mmchugh@northofboston.com or at 781-799-5202

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    By Michael McHugh Staff Writer

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  • Healey taps $250M to offset rising health insurance premiums

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    BOSTON — The Healey administration is pumping an additional $250 million into the state-subsidized health care system to help offset the impact of now expired federal tax credits, which have driven up premiums for many people insured through the federal health care exchange.

    On Thursday, Gov. Maura Healey and other state officials said they are moving ahead with plans to increase spending on the ConnectorCare program by $250 million, for a total of $600 million this fiscal year.

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  • Beverly faces nearly $4 million budget shortfall this spring

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    BEVERLY — The city is facing a nearly $4 million shortfall in funding the fiscal 2027 operating budget.

    That number — $3,921,385, to be exact — was in a report by Beverly’s Financial Forecasting Committee released this month.

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    kAmk6>mr@?E24E r2C@=:?6 t?@D 2Ek^6>m k6>mk2 9C67lQ>2:=E@irt?@Do?@CE9@73@DE@?]4@>Qmrt?@Do?@CE9@73@DE@?]4@>k^2mk^6>mk6>m]k^6>mk^Am

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  • State provides tax credits to theater programs

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    BOSTON — The Healey administration is doling out $7 million to community theaters under a new tax credit program to help the businesses offset their operating costs, attract more talent and expand offerings.

    The Live Theater Tax Credit Program, which is jointly administered by the state offices of Travel and Tourism and Business Development, announced last week that it has awarded funding for 28 live-stage musical theater, dance or theatrical productions across the state.

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  • Healey urges Congress to extend Obamacare credits

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    BOSTON — Democratic Gov. Maura Healey is renewing calls for Congress to extend Obamacare tax credits, warning that health care premiums for tens of thousands of Bay Staters will skyrocket without legislative action.

    The U.S. Senate was expected to vote earlier this week on a Democratic proposal to extend the premium tax credits implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic and Healey is urging congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump to support the plan.

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    kAm#6AF3=:42?D 2C8F6 E92E E96 A2?56>:4 😀 @G6C 2?5 E92E E96 4@?E:?F65 7656C2= 962=E9 42C6 DF3D:5:6D 2C6 5C:G:?8 FA 4@DED 7@C E96 7656C2= 8@G6C?>6?E] %96J H2?E E@ E:89E6? prp DF3D:5J CF=6D 2D A2CE @7 3C@256C C67@C>D @7 7656C2= 962=E9 DA6?5:?8]k^Am

    kAmk6>mr9C:DE:2? |] (256 4@G6CD E96 |2DD249FD6EED $E2E69@FD6 7@C }@CE9 @7 q@DE@? |65:2 vC@FAUCDBF@jD ?6HDA2A6CD 2?5 H63D:E6D] t>2:= 9:> 2E k2 9C67lQ>2:=E@i4H256o4?9:?6HD]4@>Qm4H256o4?9:?6HD]4@>k^2m]k^6>mk^Am

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  • Healey signs $2.3B closeout budget

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    BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey signed a $2.3 billion supplemental budget Tuesday that plugs revenue gaps from the previous fiscal year and buoys the state’s Medicaid program with federal funding cuts looming on the horizon.

    The spending plan, approved by the Legislature before it recessed last week for winter break, calls for closing out the previous fiscal year’s books by providing more money for health care, education and the state’s life sciences industry.

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  • Report: Mass. cities, towns face ‘historic’ fiscal crisis

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    BOSTON — Massachusetts cities and towns are facing a “historic fiscal crisis” amid rising operating costs, lackluster state aid and restraints on property tax increases, according to a new report.

    The “Perfect Storm” report, released by the Massachusetts Municipal Association, found that while state government spending has increased by an average of 2.8% per year since 2010 to meet its needs, restraints on local revenue sources – including Proposition 2 1⁄2 – have held city and town spending to just 0.6% per year.


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  • Amesbury mayor proposes Prop. 2 1/2 override

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    AMESBURY – Mayor Kassandra Gove on Tuesday announced she will be asking the City Council to consider approving a Proposition 2 ½ budget override question as part of the Nov. 4 city election this month.

    The proposal for the override question states “Shall the City of Amesbury be allowed to assess an additional $6 million in real estate and personal property taxes for the purposes of funding the operating budgets of the city and of the public schools for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026?”


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    By Caitlin Dee | cdee@newburyportnews.com

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  • Report: Mass. taxpayers to get big tax cut in 2026

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    BOSTON — Massachusetts taxpayers will receive a big break next year under President Donald Trump’s recently enacted spending package, according to a new report.

    The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan Washington-based think tank, estimates that Bay Staters will see their taxes cut by an average of $5,139 in 2026 under Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill – the third-largest reduction in the nation following Wyoming and Washington state.


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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Panel to study impact of SNAP cuts

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    BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey has created a task force aimed at helping the state fill an expected gap in federal funding for food insecurity programs.

    President Donald Trump’s newly minted domestic policy bill extends federal tax cuts and implements his agenda to improve border security, cut taxes and slash government spending, but it also calls for deep cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps.


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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Former Allen properties to be auctioned

    Former Allen properties to be auctioned

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    ESSEX — The town of Essex will auction off this month four Southern Avenue properties formerly owned by the estate of William Allen.

    The auction is scheduled for noon Thursday, Oct. 24, at noon at Town Hall, 30 Martin St. Bidder registration will be held before the event, from 11:30 a.m. to noon.

    Zekos Group Auctioneers of Shrewsbury will conduct the auction.

    The properties represent four contiguous land parcels from 5-10 Southern Ave., adjacent to Eastern Avenue and Main Street in Essex. The offering stipulates the four parcels will be sold together and make up nearly 1 acre.

    “The site offers extensive frontage, public water and sewer and is ideally located for a multitude of uses near the intersection of Main Street and Eastern Avenue,” reads the listing on the Zekos Group website.

    “The parcels are improved with a single-family home, what appears to be a mixed-use dwelling and a barn-style warehouse, all in disrepair.”

    Essex is involved in the sale because of the years of taxes that were not paid, Town Administrator Brendhan Zubricki said.

    “The town got the properties through a tax taking since the estate of William Allen was in arrears for many years on property taxes,” Zubricki said. “It is a very complex and lengthy process and it has taken years to get to the auction stage with the Allen property.

    “The town will receive the proceeds of the auction and the property will hopefully be redeveloped to eliminate a blighted area. Also, the new owner will hopefully pay taxes on a regular basis and improve the property which will actually increase overall taxation in the town as new growth.”

    Regarding the anticipated earnings to be made by Essex from the auction, Zubricki said that “remains to be seen on auction day.”

    Participation in the auction includes making a $10,000 certified bank check deposit, with an additional $10,000 deposit required from the high bidder within 24 hours. Checks are payable to the “Town of Essex.”

    The bidding process requires a 30-day closing period, according to the Zekos Group website.

    The properties to be auctioned are parcel 136-113.1, 136-113, 136-112 and 136-111. According to Patriot Properties Inc., the appraisal value for three of the parcels range from $361,500 to $389,800

    The three largest parcels to be auctioned are located in the town’s Mixed-Use Zoning District, which permits commercial and residential uses, according to the listing.

    “(This is) an excellent development opportunity for (an) investor or builder,” the website reads.

    According to Allen’s obituary in the Times, the Essex native died May 11, 2015, in Gloucester after a long battle with melanoma.

    He was born in Essex in 1929 at the family farm on Choate Street. He started Bill’s Trucking Co. on Southern Avenue and worked and lived there until he died in 2015.

    Allen, the son of the late James G. and Edith (Perkins) Allen, left 11 children, along with many nieces, nephews, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was the last surviving member of his siblings, which included George, John, Frank, Arthur “Al” and a sister, Jean (Jenkins).

    Stephen Hagan may be contacted at 978-675-2708, or shagan@gloucestertimes.com.

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    By Stephen Hagan | Staff Writer

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  • State uncovers $2.3M in welfare, food stamp fraud

    State uncovers $2.3M in welfare, food stamp fraud

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    BOSTON — Investigators uncovered more than $2.3 million in welfare fraud in the most recent quarter, according to state Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s office.

    The office’s Bureau of Special Investigations looked into more than 1,235 cases during the final quarter of the fiscal year, from April 1 to June 30, and identified at least 176 instances of public assistance fraud, about 80% of which was in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, previously known as food stamps.

    The bureau, which has the power to investigate welfare fraud, said benefits paid from the food stamp program amounted to more than $1.9 million of the fraudulent activity in the previous quarter. At least $245,858 in fraudulent activity was related to MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program, the agency said.

    Another $138,081 was uncovered in the state’s primary cash assistance program, known as Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children, DiZoglio’s office reported.

    Of the $2 million in welfare fraud, federal and state courts have so far recovered only $103,142 in restitution, the auditor’s office said.

    In the previous fiscal year, the auditor’s office uncovered more than $12.3 million worth of welfare fraud from about 780 cases that were looked into by investigators.

    DiZoglio said the bureau’s investigations are “making government work better by identifying fraud, waste, and abuse of tax dollars so that residents actually in need have access to support and services.”

    In fiscal 2022, the auditor’s office uncovered more than $13.5 million worth of welfare fraud from about 600 cases that were investigated.

    That was a 120% increase in the dollar value from a year earlier, when investigators uncovered about $6.1 million in fraud.

    Demand for food stamps and other public assistance has risen amid the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has remained high amid inflationary costs.

    As of April, more than 111,000 people in Massachusetts were receiving basic welfare benefits from the state’s main cash assistance program, according to the latest state data.

    Meanwhile, an additional 1 million people were getting food stamps as of March, according to the latest federal data. That’s more than double the pre-pandemic average of about 450,000 recipients.

    Under current law, a recipient is limited to receiving welfare for two years in any five-year period. A family of three in the program collects roughly $593 per month.

    In the fiscal year that gets underway July 1, the state plans to spend more than $300 million on cash assistance programs for welfare recipients.

    The state has tightened its welfare fraud rules in recent years following previous audits showing widespread abuse, including the names of dead people being used to claim benefits. The penalty for welfare fraud is up to 10 years in prison, in addition to repayment of the money.

    Advocates for the benefits programs point out that welfare fraud only accounts for a fraction of the cash assistance the state provides every year. They argue that the money devoted to investigating fraud would be better spent on expanding benefits for the needy.

    Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Auditor: No tax rebates issued this year

    Auditor: No tax rebates issued this year

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    It’s official: Massachusetts’ taxpayers won’t be getting a break this year from a decades-old tax rebate law, the state’s fiscal watchdog says.

    State Auditor Diana DiZoglio said a review by her office has determined that the net state tax revenues of more than $39 billion in fiscal 2023 were below the allowable amount of $44.4 billion, “resulting in no excess state tax revenues.”

    The auditor’s report is based on data from the state Department of Revenue, which also concluded that taxpayers won’t be getting any extra refunds this year.

    In 2022, the state returned $3 billion to more than 3.6 million taxpayers under the voter-approved Chapter 62F law, which requires Massachusetts to refund money when tax revenues grow by more than wages and salaries.

    But lawmakers approved changes to the law as part of a $1 billion tax relief package, signed by Gov. Maura Healey in October, that exempted collections from the new “millionaires tax” – which sets a 4% surtax on incomes above $1 million – from the calculation.

    In the previous year, the state collected nearly $2.2 billion from the tax, according to the report.

    Last year, DiZoglio’s office determined that the net state tax revenues of nearly $37 billion in fiscal 2023 were below the allowable amount of $41.4 billion, which was also below the threshold to trigger the rebate law.

    The Chapter 62F law was overwhelmingly approved by voters in 1986. Besides 2022, the rebate law had only been triggered once since it was approved – in fiscal 1987 – when the state’s actual revenues exceeded allowable revenues by nearly $30 million.

    As part of the tax relief plan, lawmakers also tweaked the Chapter 62F law to require that any future rebates be paid out “equally” among taxpayers, and married taxpayers who file a joint return with the federal government must also file a joint state return.

    That change was prompted by concerns raised by liberal groups that “loopholes” in state law would allow wealthy households to skirt the “millionaires tax”.

    Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Teachers union blasts use of ‘millionaires tax’ money

    Teachers union blasts use of ‘millionaires tax’ money

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    BOSTON — Backers of the state’s “millionaires tax” are accusing the Healey administration of defying the will of voters by tapping into proceeds from the tax to close out the previous fiscal year budget.

    A supplemental budget filed by Gov. Maura Healey aimed at closing out the previous fiscal year budget calls for spending $225 million in “millionaires tax” proceeds to cover costs for grants to child care programs, universal free school meals, transportation service expansions and other items.

    But the Massachusetts Teachers Association, a chief proponent of the tax, is blasting the proposal to use the money this way, saying the funding needs should have been covered by other revenue sources.

    “Fair Share funds must be used to build upon the existing spending for public education and transportation, and not become dollars lost on balance sheets,” MTA President Max Page said in a statement. “Gov. Healey’s supplemental budget proposal defies the will of the voters and the spirit of Fair Share, which is raising money to grow our public education and transportation systems.”

    Voters approved the so-called Fair Share proposal in the 2022 elections, setting a new 4% surtax on people with incomes above $1 million a year. The state collected more than $2.1 billion from the tax in the previous year, exceeding projections by budget writers.

    A spokesman for the state’s Executive Office of Administration and Finance defended the governor’s proposal, saying the spending is in line with the intent of the voter-approved tax and the state budget.

    “Our administration has consistently demonstrated our commitment to fulfilling the will of the voters who approved the Fair Share surtax to support our education and transportation systems,” the agency said in a statement. “The supplemental budget filed by the Governor maintains that commitment by proposing to use a limited amount of surplus surtax for education and transportation programs like universal school meals and child care provider grants.”

    The approach, the agency said, “aligns with how surtax revenue was budgeted in Fiscal Year 2025 and is necessary to close Fiscal Year 2024 in balance.”

    Healey’s $714 million supplemental spending plan, which requires legislative approval, seeks to close funding gaps for public health, substance use treatment and education, and fund collective bargaining agreements with labor unions.

    It also calls for overhauling how Massachusetts approves renewable energy infrastructure projects, which has also drawn criticism from lawmakers who view it as an end-run around a stalled clean energy bill.

    The issue of how billions of dollars in proceeds from the tax will be spent by the state government was a key issue in the debate over the proposal.

    A chief criticism was claims by tax proponents that the money will be devoted exclusively to transportation and education spending were misleading.

    A 2022 report by Tufts University’s Center for State Policy Analysis ahead of the tax’s approval by voters warned that while the plan clearly stated the money must be devoted to education and transportation, not all the surtax revenue is likely to be spent in those areas.

    “The problem is fungibility, or the ease with which lawmakers can shift money between programs,” the report’s authors wrote. “There is nothing illegal or untoward about this approach; it’s a common part of legislative horse-trading.”

    The report estimates that for every dollar raised by the surtax, spending on the stated earmarks is likely to increase by 30 cents to 70 cents, with the remainder being “diverted to other areas of the budget,” they wrote.

    It also noted that revenue from the tax would be “highly volatile” and is likely to rise or fall sharply, depending on the economic conditions. The number of people paying the tax will increase gradually over time, the report noted.

    Supporters say taxing the rich means more money to improve neglected public schools, expand child care options, and fix potholed roads and crumbling bridges.

    Opponents argue the tax is hurting businesses and driving away corporate investment and job creators, while putting a drag on the state’s economy as it recovers from residual impacts of the pandemic.

    Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Former owner of popular sandwich shop pleads guilty to tax fraud

    Former owner of popular sandwich shop pleads guilty to tax fraud

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    SALEM — The former owner of Red’s Sandwich Shop in Salem has pleaded guilty to tax fraud after failing to pay more than $1.5 million in state meals taxes and causing employment tax losses of more than $400,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

    John Drivas, 66, who lives in Hampton, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty in federal court on Sept. 6 to five counts of failure to collect and pay employment taxes owed to the IRS and four counts of wire fraud for state meals taxes he collected from restaurant customers but failed to pay over to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.

    The offenses took place over a six-year period between January 2016 and October 2022 at Red’s Sandwich Shop and two other restaurants owned and operated by Drivas — Red’s Kitchen and Tavern in Peabody and Red’s Seabrook in Seabrook, New Hampshire.

    Drivas was the sole shareholder of the Salem restaurant until he sold it to an employee in September 2022. He was the 100% owner of the Peabody restaurant with his wife, and the 52% owner of the Seabrook restaurant with his children.

    U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick scheduled sentencing for Dec. 5. The charge of failure to pay taxes carries a maximum potential sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss and restitution. Each wire fraud charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

    According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Drivas collected more than $1.5 million in state meals taxes paid by restaurant customers that he failed to pay over to the state as required by law. In Massachusetts, all owners and operators of restaurants and bars are required to collect 6.25% sales taxes on meals. Salem and Peabody also require restaurants and bar to collect an additional 0.75% local option meals excise tax.

    Although Drivas collected the taxes from customers, he intentionally withheld $1,596,775 of those taxes from monthly reports and payments owed to the state Department of Revenue.

    Drivas also paid wages to numerous employees of the restaurants partly by payroll checks and partly in cash. He did not report the cash wages to the IRS or pay employment taxes on them, causing employment tax losses of $439,341. Federal tax law requires employers to withhold from any employee wages an amount for income taxes and other amounts for Social Security and Medicare taxes.

    Drivas’ guilty plea was announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Boston Field Office, and the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts.

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    By News Staff

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  • Objections filed as Steward pushes for sale of hospitals

    Objections filed as Steward pushes for sale of hospitals

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    BOSTON — As Steward Health Care prepares to make the case in federal court Wednesday that the deals it reached to sell four Massachusetts hospital facilities should be quickly approved, a number of others would like to have a word — including key lenders for the bankrupt company, the Archdiocese of Boston, and the Internal Revenue Service.

    The blur of activity includes ongoing negotiations between Steward and Massachusetts state government over a second, and larger, infusion of public funding that the company says is required to keep its hospitals here open until the sales close, possibly on Sept. 30.

    Massachusetts aided Steward with $30 million to stay afloat in August and now is poised to provide the company another $42 million in payments and advances by the end of this week, according to a court filing late Monday.

    An array of objections have been lodged in U.S. Bankruptcy Court since Steward announced the hospital sales. A sale hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday, when Judge Christopher Lopez will weigh whether the deals are the best possible way for the company to wind down operations and maximize the value the assets return for its lenders and creditors. Steward says they are and should be approved.

    The court is likely to consider an objection filed by the “first in, last out” or FILO lenders that have pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into Steward as the company headed for bankruptcy. Those lenders said they “cannot possibly consent to the proposed sales of the Massachusetts Hospitals in their current form, and they do not.”

    “The Debtors’ sale process has resulted in bids for the Massachusetts Hospitals for an aggregate purchase price of $343 million, subject to certain adjustments … However, this figure is misleading as the entirety of the Purchase Price will be allocated towards the real property and therefore flow to benefit the purported landlord (MPT and Macquarie) and more specifically will flow to the purported landlord’s secured lender,” the FILO lenders wrote in the objection.

    The objection from the IRS relates to a section of each asset purchase agreement that says Steward has filed all of its tax returns. The federal government says that isn’t actually the case, echoing the way state government was repeatedly frustrated by Steward’s failure to file financial disclosures.

    “The United States states that either the terms of the respective Asset Purchase Agreements should be revised to correctly reflect that certain required federal tax returns for certain of the Seller Debtors have not been filed with the IRS and that the applicable Seller Debtor has a legal obligation to file such tax return,” or the court should require Steward to file the returns in question before the transactions close, the U.S. Department of Justice wrote on behalf of the IRS.

    The limited objection from the Archdiocese of Boston stems back to the history of many Steward hospitals as part of the Caritas Christi network. The church said its sale of the hospitals to Steward in 2010 was the best option “that would allow the Hospitals to continue to operate as Catholic health care facilities.”

    An agreement between the archdiocese and Steward requires the company to return any and all religious items and remove “all symbols of Catholic identity (e.g. interior signage, trade and service marks associated with Catholic identity in both paper and electronic form) and cease using a list of Catholic-related names.

    The church said it would object to the hospital sales “to the extent that the Debtors seek to transfer the Restricted Names or the Religious Items or authorize the buyers to continue to use symbols of Catholic identity,” but added that it appears no such transfer is contemplated. That suggests that there will be new names for St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, the Holy Family hospitals, St. Anne’s Hospital and Good Samaritan Medical Center, since the church says Steward “acknowledged and agreed that the … names were ‘integrally related’ to the Hospitals’ Catholic identity.”

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    By Colin A. Young | State House News Service

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  • Mass. wagered $412M on sports in July

    Mass. wagered $412M on sports in July

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    Gambling activities generated more than $140 million in revenue for casinos and sportsbooks in Massachusetts last month, with $36.5 million of that haul due to the state as taxes or fees, the Gaming Commission said.

    Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville, MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor in Everett generated a cumulative $99.47 million in gross gaming revenue during July, almost two-thirds of it at Encore.

    The state’s seven online sports betting companies and the physical sportsbooks at the casinos produced an additional $41.21 million in taxable sports wagering revenue last month.

    The Plainville slots parlor is taxed at a rate of 49% of its gross gaming revenue, and the two full-scale casinos pay a 25% tax on their gross gaming revenue.

    For July, that worked out to about $28.3 million for the state, the commission said Thursday. Revenues from brick-and-mortar sportsbooks are taxed at 15% while online gambling revenues are taxed at 20%. The commission said July’s sports betting resulted in almost $8.2 million in state taxes.

    Bettors in Massachusetts risked about $411.8 million on sporting events that took place in July, with more than 98% of that in wagers placed over the internet rather than in-person. That’s up from about $285.7 million wagered in July 2023. The operators’ monthly revenue represented 10.26% of the total handle.

    Since legal gambling began here in 2015, the state has collected $1.82 billion in taxes and fees from casino-style gaming. It has also taken in $166.61 million in taxes and assessments from sports wagering operations that became legal in 2023, the commission said.

    Also, the American Gaming Association reported that U.S. commercial gaming revenues grew for the 14th consecutive quarter across the months of April, May and June of this year as expanded gambling options including sports betting and online casino gambling apps have proliferated to more and more states.

    The organization said the $17.63 billion in quarterly revenue for the sector generated $3.73 billion in tax revenue for states across the country.

    “While sports betting and iGaming continued to drive overall industry revenue growth in the second quarter, new brick-and-mortar property openings in Illinois, Nebraska and Virginia also led to rising traditional commercial gaming revenue,” AGA Vice President of Research David Forman said. “Across the country, land-based gaming markets are seeing mixed year-over-year comparisons due to slower consumer spending economy-wide, which may continue to be a factor through the remainder of 2024.”

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    By Colin A. Young | State House News Service

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