New Massachusetts Payroll Tax Begins Tuesday To Fund Paid-Leave Program
BOSTON (CBS) – A new payroll tax begins Tuesday in Massachusetts that will fund the state's paid-leave program.
The new tax is designed to make sure if you need to take time off from work to take care of a new child or a sick family member you can still get paid.
Companies will be charged a 0.75 percent payroll tax.
Employees will be charged 38 cents for every $100 earned.
So how does that break down?
According to calculations by Raise Up Massachuetts, one of the groups that pushed for this paid leave, a person making minimum wage - $25,000 a year - would be charged a $1.82 a week or $95 a year.
For a person making $100,000 a year, they will pay $7.27 a week or $378 a year.
Read: How To Calculate Your Contribution
Workers can start using the fund in January 2021.
"I think the important thing for people to know is that this isn't a tax that is going into a fund to be spent on general purposes. This is an insurance program like Social Security so the money goes into a trust fund can only be used for paying out benefits," said Andrew Farnitano, a spokesman for Raise Up Massachusetts.
Jillian Kordis of Cambridge is career nanny who has always wanted something like this.
"Obviously very excited and very much like an equal. As a domestic employee you sometimes feel there's like there is this weird hierarchy, but we are all people and everyone's time off is as valuable as everyone else's," she told WBZ-TV.
However, others feel like it's just more money out of their pocket.
"I don't think anybody enjoys taxes going up and as an employer it can be difficult. Especially on a small staff, very small staff. If somebody needs to leave, (it) puts a burden on everybody else," business owner Jack Heckman explained.
Companies that already offer paid leave can opt out, but only if what they offer is equal to or better than what the state offers.
Employers are responsible for paying a minimum percent of the new tax, so there is the possibility you won't see a deduction, depending on what your company has decided to cover.
For more on what employers and employees are responsible for, check the state's website.
