June 18, 2026……A blockbuster ballot question calling for a major reduction in the state income tax was ruled ineligible by the state’s highest court to appear on the Nov. 3 ballot, with justices concluding Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office provided a “significantly misleading” summary of the proposal that was likely to influence voters.
The measure chiefly calls for the 5% income tax rate to be gradually stepped down to 4% over a three-year period, but the case hinged on other impacts of the proposal.
Led by longtime community organizer Lew Finfer, opponents of the tax cut filed a lawsuit with the SJC in January arguing that Campbell’s summary of the proposal is so flawed and unfair that the measure should be disqualified from the ballot. The suit claims the summary fails to make clear that the question’s passage would also reduce the tax rate for long-term capital gains income…