The so-called millionaires tax got one step closer to reality on Wednesday when the Massachusetts legislature voted 159 to 41 in favor of proposing a four percent surcharge on incomes over one million dollars in 2022.

Since the Massachusetts Constitution provides a single rate of income tax, the change – also known as the Fair Share Amendment – would require a constitutional amendment. Wednesday’s vote marked the second year in a row that the legislature voted in its annual constitutional convention to move the proposal forward. If voters agree next year, the new surcharge would come into effect in 2023.

Proponents of the change say it would bring the state nearly $ 2 billion in new revenue annually, creating a crucial new stream of funding for public education and public transportation.

However, opponents claim that the proposed change would destroy jobs and induce wealthy residents to leave Massachusetts, claiming the potential financial gains have been overstated.

On Tuesday, the Fiscal Alliance Foundation and the Beacon Hill Institute published a study that estimates the projected increase in sales to be just $ 1.2 billion and the loss of 9,000 jobs.

“This debate is fueled by lawmakers pursuing their worst urges and urges to spend more money they don’t have,” said Paul Craney, a spokesman for the Fiscal Alliance Foundation.

Proponents, however, said the change would allow Massachusetts to meet important needs that are currently neglected while making Massachusetts more economically equitable.

“Most people realize that our wealthiest residents can afford to pay a little more taxes to fund investments that expand opportunities and make our Commonwealth fairer and more equitable for all,” said Senator Jason Lewis (D-Winchester). the Senate co-sponsor said during the debate on Wednesday.

“Since 1979, the median income of the top percent has grown 10 times annually than the median income of the bottom 90 percent,” added Lewis. “Income and wealth inequality has now reached levels not seen since the 1920s, just before the Great Depression. And we must face the fact that our state of Massachusetts is one of the most unequal in the nation.”

The proposed change, which will be presented to voters in a year of gubernatorial elections, is likely to meet with extremely strong support on both sides.

It started immediately after the vote when Craney, the spokesman for the Fiscal Alliance Foundation, released a statement warning of dire consequences if the measure goes into effect.

“While lawmakers want the public to believe this is a tax hike only for the rich, the wealthiest in the state will flee quickly, while the middle class and working-class families have to take account,” Craney said. If more and more middle-class and working-class families realize that this is an attempt to tax them next, it will eventually fail … and be a victory for all taxpayers to enjoy. ”

The Rise Up Massachusetts group, which supports the measure, said in a statement that the campaign to pass the measure is “well underway, with more than a dozen local rallies across the state this month.”