(BOSTON 4/8/2025) — In 2023, the Massachusetts Legislature passed and Governor Healey signed into law a bipartisan tax relief bill aimed at lowering costs for working families, homeowners, renters, and seniors. Bay Staters can expect to see the effects of this tax relief package as they file their taxes for tax year 2024.

“The Commonwealth’s affordability crisis has been affecting individuals and families across the state, making it harder for Bay Staters to afford critical necessities including groceries, heating, and childcare. Especially at a time when the President’s tariff policies are expected to further drive up the cost of everyday goods, the Legislature’s historic tax relief bill has become even more timely as residents file their 2024 taxes,” said Senator Michael Moore (D-Millbury). “I am hopeful that things such as an expanded child tax credit and rental tax deduction will help make the math a bit easier for families struggling to balance their budgets. As we look toward the new legislative session, I will be working with my colleagues to deliver more solutions to the affordability crisis we face in the Commonwealth.”

Major provisions include the most generous universal Child and Family Tax Credit in the country. Taxpayers will see the child and dependent tax credit increase from $310 to $440 per dependent child, disabled adult, and senior for taxable year 2024 and beyond. This legislation also eliminated the child and dependent cap and will benefit hundreds of thousands of families statewide.

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) has been increased from 30 percent to 40 percent of the federal credit. This increase provides crucial support to working individuals and families, benefitting nearly 400,000 taxpayers with incomes under $67,000.

The legislation also includes relief for seniors by increasing the maximum Senior Circuit Breaker Tax Credit from $1,200. Because this credit is adjusted for inflation each year, the maximum credit for tax year 2024 is now $2,730. This increase helps approximately 100,000 seniors, especially those struggling with high housing costs who wish to stay in their homes.

2024 taxpayers can also expect relief in other areas including:

If you rent in the Commonwealth, the cap on the rental deduction increased from $3,000 to $4,000.
If you inherited an estate valued under $2 million, the bill exempts you from the estate tax.

Tax filings are due by Tuesday, April 15th. Alternatively, filers can request an extension until October 15th through the IRS and the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, though requests for an extension must be filed by April 15th.

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(BOSTON 4/3/2025) — This week, the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts honored Second Worcester District Senator Michael Moore as their Public Official of the Year, an award he received alongside Representatives Tram Nguyen and Natalie Higgins. The award recognizes the legislators’ work in establishing the legal definition of coercive control, the utilization of threats to control or compel a victim into compliance, as a form of abuse and affording protections to those who have survived it.

“Coercive control is a horrible method of abuse that has long gone unrecognized in the Commonwealth, allowing dangerous abusers to skirt consequences and re-offend again and again. Passing a law that updates the definition of abuse to include coercive control is a long-fought victory that belongs to all Bay Staters, but especially the survivors, advocates, and legal professionals who bravely told their stories,” said Senator Michael Moore (D-Millbury). “It is an honor to receive this award from the Women’s Bar Association and to share it with my friends and colleagues, Representative Higgins and Representative Nguyen. Our work is far from done, but thanks to years of work and advocacy, survivors of coercive control can now hold their abusers accountable.”

An Act to prevent abuse and exploitation, passed in June 2024, is a bipartisan bill that criminalizes the sharing of sexually explicit images or videos without an individual’s consent, also known as “revenge porn.” The legislation broadly creates a diversion program for teens who share explicit images, and extends the statute of limitations to pursue criminal charges for certain domestic violence offenses from six years to 15 years. Additionally, the bill legally defines “coercive control” – language that is based on legislation originally introduced and prioritized by Senator Michael Moore along with his partners in the House, Representatives Higgins and Nguyen.

The law, H.4744, defines coercive control as a single act or pattern of behavior intended to threaten, intimidate, control, or compel compliance of a family or household member that causes a fear of physical harm or a reduced sense of physical safety or autonomy. It allows an individual to seek an abuse prevention order if the individual is the victim of coercive control by a family or household member, or a person with whom they were in a substantive dating relationship. Critically, the bill also includes important aspects from the House bill which would include protections against coercive control through repeated frivolous litigation and distribution of an individual’s sensitive data. Examples of coercive control include threating to share explicit images, regulating or monitoring a family or household member’s communications and access to services, and isolating a family or household member from friends or relatives.

The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) is an organization of female lawyers and attorneys from across the Commonwealth focused on building personal and professional relationships, as well as advocating for women’s issues in and out of the courtroom. Founded in 1978, the organization has over 1,500 members.

The WBA’s legislative priorities for the 2025-26 term include anti-child poverty measures, bolstering legal aid funding, enhancing access to reproductive care, and protecting individuals against controlling and abusive litigation – a bill introduced and championed by Senator Michael Moore.

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