A campaign to lower the Massachusetts state income tax rate from 5 to 4 percent has cleared its first signature hurdle, setting up a major tax debate heading into the 2026 election cycle.

Taxpayers for an Affordable Massachusetts said it submitted more than 88,000 certified signatures to the Secretary of State for the income tax question. The total exceeds the threshold needed to advance an initiative petition to the state legislature early next year.

The coalition behind the proposal argues that Massachusetts families are under heavy financial pressure and that a statewide tax cut is overdue. The group includes small businesses, restaurants, retailers, and taxpayers who say the high cost of living is driving residents out of the state.

“Massachusetts is in the midst of an affordability and competitiveness crisis that has been acknowledged by elected officials across the Commonwealth,” spokesman Chris Keohan said in a statement emailed to NewBostonPost.

Supporters say cutting the state income tax by one percentage point would prevent outward migration and deliver meaningful savings to Bay State families. Opponents say it would cost the state much-needed revenue and disproportionately benefit higher earners.

He pointed to the state’s shrinking population and added that “we are currently losing a resident every 11 minutes and 38 seconds here in Massachusetts.”

Keohan said the measure would give households meaningful relief.

Cutting the tax rate to 4 percent would “put roughly $1,300 back in the pockets of families in Massachusetts annually at a time when it is needed most,” he said.

The group also argues that a lower rate would strengthen the state’s long-term outlook by helping it retain workers and attract new residents.

Keohan said the proposal would lead to “economic stimulus by creating jobs, increasing sales, meals, and hotel tax revenues,” and that reducing the income tax would “make Massachusetts more competitive and increase growth by billions of dollars.”

The campaign says its signature totals reflect broad public support. Internal polling cited by the group shows close to 75 percent of surveyed voters back the income tax cut, including majorities across income levels, partisan affiliations, and union households.

The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance praised the strong signature showing and said voters are sending a message that Beacon Hill has not taken the state’s cost problems seriously enough.

“Today’s news is an encouraging sign that taxpayers are no longer willing to sit back while Beacon Hill treats affordability like an afterthought,” Paul Diego Craney, the group’s executive director, said in a press release emailed to NewBostonPost.

He said the income tax cut is a straightforward way to lower costs at a time when families are struggling, and Massachusetts is losing residents.

He said the ballot question reflects “a growing, bipartisan frustration with the state’s high costs and chronic mismanagement."

If the petition survives the next steps, voters would decide the income tax rate in November 2026. Initiative petitions must complete two rounds of signature gathering before making the ballot. Supporters crossed the first round by surpassing the required 74,574 certified signatures statewide on Wednesday, December 3, 2025.

Next, the proposal heads to the legislature. If lawmakers choose not to act by the first Wednesday of May 2026, supporters can begin Round 2 and collect another 12,429 certified signatures by July 1, 2026. Only after finishing that second round can the question secure a spot on the 2026 ballot.