More Massachusetts Residents Earning $1 Million Or More Per Year

BOSTON, MA —With a hot stock market, a strong state economy and Trump administration tax cuts, 18,090 Massachusetts reported annual income of $1 million or more in 2017, according to Internal Revenue Service data released this week. That was up 12 percent from 2016 and the biggest jump in three years.

The total income of the 18,090 tax filers also rose significantly, hitting a combined $66.8 billion in 2017, the most recent year for which data was available. That was up from $53.5 billion in 2016.

The data is likely to play into the ongoing debate about the so-called millionaire's tax which state lawmakers revived after the state Supreme Judicial Court ruled it could not be considered as a ballot question in the 2018 election. When it made projections about the impact of the millionaires tax, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue said the number of people earning $1 million or more in Massachusetts would not hit 18,000 until 2019.

Voters will get a chance to consider the millionaires tax in the 2022 election. The tax would be applied to the state's highest earners and revenue would go to education and transportation. Backers say the tax will alleviate the burden for lower-income Massachusetts residents, who are increasingly faced with high housing and other costs. Critics say the tax revenue from the tax would be volatile, as high-income earners are typically dependent on a strong economy and a healthy stock market.