Worcester Business Journal

6 Worcester Business Journal • September 14, 2015 www.wbjournal.com sioner. In a letter to Administration and Finance Secretary Kristen Lepore and high-ranking state legislators, Commissioner Mark Nunnelly reported that fiscal year 2015 inflation-adjusted baseline tax revenues grew 5.37 percent over fiscal 2014. That's more than the 2.5-percent growth rate required under the tax cut trigger law. A final determi- nation on whether the income tax rate will fall from 5.15 percent to 5.1 percent will be made Dec. 15. (State House News Service) The pharmaceutical company that makes the opioid overdose reversal Knowledge + Experience + Trusted Advice. It all adds up. Large enough to serve the needs of most businesses and individuals; small enough to offer the personal attention you expect and deserve. Greenberg, Rosenblatt, Kull & Bitsoli, PC Certified Public Accountants 306 Main Street, Suite 400 • Worcester, MA 01608 508.791.0901 • www.grkb.com Live or work in Massachusetts? You can become a member. * The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is fi xed, effective as of 7/27/15. APRs are subject to change at any time. A 3-year term with an interest rate of 5.49% is repayable in 36 monthly payments of $30.19 per $1,000 borrowed. One-time documentation fee of $350 and other fees may apply. Minimum loan amount $5,000. Maximum loan amount is $50,000. Workers' Credit Union membership required. ACTON | CHELMSFORD | FITCHBURG | GARDNER | GROTON | LANCASTER | LEOMINSTER | LUNENBURG | ORANGE | TOWNSEND | WESTFORD Borrow up to $50,000 with a Workers' Micro loan! Approval is fast and rates are as low as $5.49% APR*. Apply now by calling 978-353-7178 or email wcu@wcu.com. Our Micro loans can help grow your business. to fi nd out how much your business accounts could pay you. The higher your average annual deposit and loan balances, the more you could share in the $3,000,000 GiveBack. Visit GiveBackCalculator.com workerscu.com | 978-345-1021 | Working Capital Lines of Credit are also available. REGIONAL BRIEFS >> Continued from previous page Source: Associated Industries of Massachusetts After a big gain in July, confidence among Massachusetts businesses fell back in August to its second-lowest level since November 2014. Mass. business confidence retreats 2014 BUSINESS CONFIDENCE (measured on a scale of 1 to 100 where 50 is neutral) 0 40 60 80 57.1 Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. 2015 drug naloxone, sometimes known as Narcan, will pay more than $300,000 into a new state trust fund to help make the medication more affordable to cities and towns, Attorney General Maura Healey announced. Healey said her office reached an agreement with Amphastar Pharmaceuticals that requires the company to pay the state $325,000 — roughly the cost of 10,000 doses of Narcan — to help offset the cost of the drug, which has risen from about $22 per dose in March 2014 to reports of first responders paying as much as $65 for one dose. (State House News Service) Several weeks after the state's first licensed slots parlor opened its doors, state Lottery sales are up, though there has been a noticeable lag in Keno activ- ity around the area of Plainridge Park Casino, according to the head of the Lottery. "The sales themselves were up a healthy margin," said Michael Sweeney, interim executive director of the Lottery. After a recent Lottery Commission meeting, Sweeney said that within a 15-minute drive of the new slots facility at a horse track in Plainville, sales are not up as much as elsewhere around the state. (State House News Service) With health care costs putting pres- sure on not only the state budget but businesses looking to locate, expand and hire in Massachusetts, leaders on Beacon Hill have sought to rein in spending by setting annual cost growth goals and pushing the market to develop alterna- tive delivery and payment models. After posting a modest 2.4-percent growth rate in 2013, the Center for Health Information and Analysis found that spending in 2014 climbed 4.8 percent, driven in part by higher pharmaceutical costs and a sharp spike in Medicaid enrollment. The Health Policy Commission last year set the annual benchmark at 3.6 percent, but CHIA's findings show that spending grew at a faster clip, as well as both inflation and national per capita spending projections. (State House News Service) Mortgage lenders sought to foreclose on more Massachusetts properties in July, with foreclosure petitions in Worcester and Middlesex counties rising faster than the state as a whole, accord- ing to The Warren Group, of Boston. Foreclosure petitions to the courts, which launch the process, rose 49 per- cent last month over July 2014, and marked the 17th straight month of increases in petition filings, according to a statement from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. Petitions rose 63 percent in Middlesex County, but even more in Worcester County: 71 percent. Confidence among Massachusetts busi- nesses slipped in August as negative news on the global economy led to stock market selloffs around the world, according to Associated Industries of Massachusetts. AIM's Business Confidence index dipped 2.1 points to 57.1 on a 1-to-100 scale (with 50 being neutral), the group announced. That fol- lowed a gain of 2.9 points in July, to 59.2. It's the index's second-lowest reading this year, above only a 56.3 in June. n

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