Politics

The state’s new income tax on millionaires won’t go into effect until 2029, but preparing for its implementation will require the state to hire hundreds of employees in the coming years.

According to Mikhail Carpenter, spokesperson for the state Department of Revenue, funding the new positions at the agency will start July 1, when the new fiscal year begins. By 2030, the agency plans to hire more than 300 new employees to do the work required under the tax changes approved this year, such as administering the new tax, supporting the expansion of the Working Families Tax Credit, and repealing parts of a tax on services enacted in 2025.

Most of the revenue from the income tax will be directed to the state’s operating fund for schools and state services. Additionally, revenues would be used for eliminating sales tax on hygiene products, diapers and over-the-counter medicine. The new law also exempts hospitals, prescription drug resellers, and health care providers from a surcharge on high-grossing businesses, and increases the business and occupation tax filing threshold to $300,000 in annual gross revenue, which could offer relief for small businesses.