House Speaker Ron Mariano and colleagues unveiled a $500 million tax relief proposal on Monday that they plan to vote on later this week as the legislative session comes to a close at the end of July.Alison Kuznitz/MassLive

Millions of Massachusetts residents may see additional financial relief through the latest tax reform package unveiled by top Beacon Hill Democrats Monday as they race against the legislative clock to deliver aid before the end of the month.

Tax code changes — most of which echo what Gov. Charlie Baker has pressured the Legislature to pursue since January amid skyrocketing inflation and ballooning state coffers — amount to at least $500 million, with the total relief package coming with a price tag of $1 billion.

Similar to Baker’s proposal, the Massachusetts House of Representatives plan to boost the senior circuit breaker tax credit, earned income tax credit, and child and dependent tax credit as permanent fixes in delivering money back to taxpayers, said House Speaker Ron Mariano.

“As commonwealth residents continue to experience an increasing uncertain economic reality that consists of rising prices and energy due to inflation, the House recognizes the need for some state action,” Mariano said during a press conference Monday morning at the Massachusetts State House.

The tax code revisions include:

“We are an outlier when it comes to the estate tax,” said state Rep. Mark Cusack, the House chair of the Joint Committee on Revenue. “We have a $1 million exemption — that puts us at last place with Oregon. But unlike Oregon, we have what we know as the cliff effect, which means that even if you’re $1 over that exemption of $1 million, you lose the whole exemption and you’re taxed on the whole value of your estate.”

The latest tax relief announcement comes less than a week after lawmakers unveiled a one-time $250 rebate initiative for Bay Staters while vowing more financial help would arrive in the remaining weeks of formal session. Eligible Massachusetts residents must have earned between $38,000 and $100,000 for individual filers, while the maximum for joint filers is $150,000.

“Simply put, these rebates represent the Legislature’s commitment to ensuring the financial relief is provided directly to the residents in the commonwealth, rather than going through the large oil companies as we’ve seen in the states that have lifted the gas tax because of the political convenience of that way,” Mariano said, as he once again dismissed the likelihood of instituting a temporary gas tax holiday. “While the rebates and the tax refunds will will undoubtedly provide much-needed relief to folks across the commonwealth, the House also recognizes the need to balance it with industry-targeted investments that will have a lasting impact on our residents and on the Massachusetts economy.”

The tax package forges a staple component of a massive $3.8 billion economic development bill — based on a mixture of state surplus and federal dollars — that the House plans to tackle during formal session this week. Other major spending categories entail $350 million for hospitals, $100 million for human services providers, $500 million for environmental infrastructure and development, $125 million for small businesses, $100 million for affordable housing and $25 million for food insecurity.

The House bill also incorporates $1.26 billion in bond allocations, including $400 million for public infrastructure.

But the bill stops short of fully delivering on Baker’s tax relief vision, though it does introduce the earned income tax credit proposal. It also omits the governor’s proposal to modify the short-term capital gains tax, as well as adjust which low-income residents qualify for no-tax status.

“I think that we had a list of proposals that we took in from our members and decided to move in a little bit of a different direction,” Mariano said of the no-tax status provision, while adding that no specific concern motivated that decision.

Mariano said the tax changes, if passed successfully in the Legislature and then signed into law by Baker, would take effect in 2023.

“These tax changes are permanent,” Mariano said, drawing a contrast to the one-time rebates endorsed by Baker. “They don’t expire, they don’t sunset.”

No Senate Democrats appeared at the Monday morning press conference.

Still, a joint statement issued earlier by Mariano, Senate President Karen Spilka, Senate Ways and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues and House Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz said the chambers had “agreed to a framework for structural change.”

“We look forward to ironing out the final details of the taxpayer relief package, bringing it to our members for discussion and debate, and ultimately adopting this critical legislation,” the statement read.

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