As the Bay State’s emergency shelter bill hovers near $1 billion for another year, and Beacon Hill looks at spending boosts in the FY26 budget, Massachusetts is hitting consumers with a new tax.

What a coincidence.

As State House News reported, the sale or rental of any cable box device that “can do more than connect a cable system to a TV broadcast receiver, and allow for parental controls” is no longer exempt from the state’s 6.25% sales tax, according to a directive from Revenue Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder. That means cable boxes that have DVR abilities or other features like the ability to connect to popular streaming services are now subject to the tax.

They were exempt in 2008, when DOR issued a directive declaring “sales and rentals of cable television converter boxes to Massachusetts cable television customers are exempt from sales and use taxes” because they were deemed to fit into a statutory exemption for things “consumed or used directly and exclusively … in the operation of commercial … television transmission.”

Now, however, Cable TV is losing ground to streaming platforms and packages, and so-called smart TVs make it simple to surf the internet with a clicker.

Technology changes, TV and the way we watch it has changed. But why should a tax exemption be lost because of viewing habits? The converter boxes, set-top boxes and cable system terminal devices are the same, it’s just the programs we access that are different.

What this cash grab will do, of course, is give consumers who were looking for a reason to cut the cable cord a final reason to do so.

More and more consumers, fed up with high cable prices, have parted company with cable. According to Variety citing Nielsen data, in 2024, there were only three cable networks that averaged more than one million viewers in prime time, Fox News, ESPN and MSNBC. They were also the only three cable networks to amass an average audience of over one million prime time viewers in 2023. By comparison, in 2014, there were 19 cable networks that had surpassed the one million audience threshold.

Streaming services are popular, and profitable, and Massachusetts wants in on the revenue. But those keen on adding to state coffers seem to have overlooked the fact that you can watch streaming TV without cable. A smart TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick or Apple TV sets consumers up to subscribe to live TV streaming services of choice, such as Hulu, YouTube TV and more. The on-demand offerings are plentiful.

The state has given Massachusetts consumers a choice: pay a higher tax, or ditch cable.

If they choose the latter, the tax goes with it.

But as with any sweeping tax move, there are those who get caught under the wheels. Elderly and lower-income viewers who don’t have smart TVs, Fire Sticks or any of the other higher-tech options are stuck. Even if they cut down on their channel package to save money, they will nonetheless be hit with that new tax.

For state leaders who purport to care about the non-rich, this is a bad move.

Massachusetts lawmakers should regroup, and tune out the cable tax.

Editorial cartoon by Gary Varvel (Creators Syndicate)