Ways & Means hears testimony on tax bill pairing higher top rates with an investment‑proceeds tax to fund health proposals

The Ways & Means Committee on Tuesday resumed debate on a committee tax bill that would raise revenue by shifting personal income‑tax incidence toward high earners and, in one version, create a state investment‑proceeds tax to offset cuts for most taxpayers.

Pat, of the Joint Fiscal Office, told the committee staff prepared two scenarios: a version that includes three health‑care provisions and a narrower version that replaces those spending items with an investment‑proceeds tax intended to be broadly revenue neutral. "The first proposal . . . includes those three health care provisions," Pat said, and added that the first two health initiatives were estimated at about $75,000,000 while an employer credit in the draft was constructed to cost roughly $42,000,000.

Why it matters: lawmakers said the proposals would concentrate revenue on a much smaller base of high‑income filers and could make state revenue more sensitive to market cycles, a concern for financing programs that rise in downturns such as health spending. "In an economic downturn ... the health care costs will go up," the committee chair said, noting revenues could fall at the same time.

Proposal details and tradeoffs Pat described the mechanics: the draft would…