Massachusetts Gets 'D' In Tax Friendliness: Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Friday, April 16. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• The Middlesex District's Attorney's office dropped charges against a Westford Academy teacher who had been accused of harassing a mother and stealing a student's identity.
• Police have identified the suspect in a hit-and-run on McGrath Highway that left a pedestrian with life-threatening injuries Monday.
• Prosecutors said Eugene Newton, 42, poured vodka onto a fire in Lowell at around 3:18 p.m. Thursday, making the fire accelerate and engulf an adult man.

Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.

Today's Top Story

If an average family moved from Virginia to Massachusetts, they would pay an additional $1,651 in taxes, thanks to the Bay State's high state and local tax burden.

The finding led researchers to give Massachusetts a grade of "D" for tax friendliness in MoneyGeek's annual state tax analysis released Friday. The state's state a local tax burden was 11.8 percent, above the national average of 9.8 percent.

The report found a correlation between lower tax rates and increases in population between 2019 and 2020. In Massachusetts, population growth was flat in 2020, while the 10 states the report said were most tax friendly had an average population increase of 0.9 percent.

Read the full story.

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Friday's Other Top Stories

Not enough evidence to try teacher accused of harassment: Saying it could not meet the burden of proof, the Middlesex District's Attorney's office dropped charges against a Westford Academy teacher who had been accused of harassing a mother and stealing a student's identity. Before Friday's filing, the office had twice delayed Michael Colson's arraignment. "But, just because they dropped the charges does not mean he's innocent, and the DA said that," said Jannelle Cioffi, who accused Colson of harassing her on Facebook.

Suspect surrenders: Police have identified the suspect in a hit-and-run on McGrath Highway that left a pedestrian with life-threatening injuries Monday. A 64-year-old Somerville man turned himself in at the Somerville Police Station Thursday and surrendered his vehicle, a white 2015 Ford Transit Connect, state police said.

No bail for suspect in fatal fire in Lowell: Prosecutors said Eugene Newton, 42, poured vodka onto a fire in Lowell at around 3:18 p.m. Thursday, making the fire accelerate and engulf an adult man. Newton made no attempt to seek help or call 911 as the fire burned, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said. When first responders arrived, the victim was taken to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries.

Learn more about getting a COVID-19 vaccine in Massachusetts at Patch's information hub.

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By The Numbers

6.8 percent: The Massachusetts unemployment rate for March, according to Friday's report from the Bureau of Labor of Statistics. While it was the lowest rate in Massachusetts since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the state's rate showed slower growth than the national figure.