Brian Shortsleeve for Massachusetts BOSTON, MA – Republican candidate for Governor Brian Shortsleeve today unveiled his 4-4-4 Competitiveness Plan, a sweeping tax-cutting agenda designed to lower the cost of living, strengthen Massachusetts businesses, attract investment, and make the Commonwealth competitive again.
The plan establishes three simple, pro-growth tax rates while delivering additional relief at the cash register:
- 4% personal income tax
- 4% corporate income tax
- 4% capital gains tax
- 5% sales tax
“Massachusetts has become too expensive for families, too expensive for small businesses, and too expensive for employers looking to grow,” said Shortsleeve. “My 4-4-4 plan sends a clear message: Massachusetts is open for business again. We are going to let people keep more of what they earn, give entrepreneurs a reason to invest here, and make Massachusetts a place where businesses want to start, stay, and grow.”
4% Personal Income Tax: Put More Money Back in People’s Pockets
Shortsleeve would lower the personal income tax from 5% to 4%, providing broad-based tax relief to working families while delivering a major boost to Massachusetts small businesses.
Small businesses are taxed at the individual income rate. Lowering the individual rate therefore does more than provide relief to workers. It helps small-business owners keep more money to hire employees, increase wages, invest in equipment, and expand.
“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and too many politicians forget that many of them pay taxes through the individual income tax system,” said Shortsleeve. “Cutting the income tax means cutting taxes for working families and thousands of small-business owners across Massachusetts. I want that money invested in businesses, employees, and communities, not sent to Beacon Hill.”
4% Corporate Income Tax: Make Massachusetts Competitive Again
Shortsleeve would lower the corporate income tax rate to 4% to make Massachusetts a more attractive place to invest, expand, and create jobs.
For too long, Massachusetts has relied on its workforce, universities, and innovation economy while allowing the cost of doing business to climb. Shortsleeve's plan would put competitiveness back at the center of the state's economic strategy.
“We cannot tax our way to prosperity,” said Shortsleeve. “Every employer deciding whether to create its next hundred jobs in Massachusetts or somewhere else is looking at the cost of doing business. We need to compete for those jobs, not assume they will always come here.”
4% Capital Gains Tax: Reward Investment and Entrepreneurship
Shortsleeve would establish a 4% capital gains tax rate, encouraging entrepreneurs, investors, and business owners to put their capital to work in Massachusetts.
The goal is simple: reward investment, encourage business formation, and stop giving people and capital another reason to leave the Commonwealth.
“Massachusetts should be the best place in America to build a business and invest in the future,” said Shortsleeve. “When people take risks, build companies, create jobs, and invest their money here, our tax code should encourage them, not punish them.”
5% Sales Tax: Lower Costs for Consumers
Shortsleeve would also roll back the sales tax to 5%, providing immediate relief to consumers and making Massachusetts retailers more competitive.
“At a time when families are getting squeezed by housing, groceries, utilities, and virtually everything else, government should be looking for ways to lower costs,” said Shortsleeve. “A 5% sales tax means consumers keep more of their money every time they make a purchase.”
Shortsleeve said the 4-4-4 Competitiveness Plan represents a fundamental change in direction for Massachusetts.
“Affordability and competitiveness go hand in hand,” Shortsleeve said. “If we want families to stay here, businesses to grow here, and the next generation to build their future here, Massachusetts has to become more affordable. Four percent income tax. Four percent corporate tax. Four percent capital gains tax. Five percent sales tax. Lower taxes, more investment, more jobs, and a stronger Massachusetts.”
Background: Why Massachusetts Needs a Competitiveness Plan
Massachusetts is losing ground in the competition for jobs, businesses, investment, and residents.
- Massachusetts now ranks dead last nationally in net new business formation, and private-sector employment remains below pre-pandemic levels. While other states are adding jobs and attracting new businesses, Massachusetts has struggled to generate private-sector growth.
- North Carolina shows what a different approach can deliver. Over the past decade, North Carolina has repeatedly cut personal and corporate income taxes while Massachusetts has maintained a significantly higher corporate tax rate and added a new income surtax. From 2020 to 2025, North Carolina added nearly 449,000 private-sector jobs, while Massachusetts lost approximately 18,000.
- Massachusetts is also losing residents to lower-cost states. A Mass Opportunity Alliance survey of 498 former Massachusetts residents who moved to Florida or New Hampshire found that tax policy was the most-cited factor influencing their decision to leave, cited by 70.7% of respondents.