SECTION 1: Article XLIV of the Amendments to the Constitution is hereby amended by striking out the second and third sentences and inserting in place thereof the following 2 sentences:-

“To ensure that the burden of such a tax is fairly and equitably distributed, such tax shall be levied at graduated rates, so that higher rates are imposed on taxable income in higher ranges and lower rates on taxable income in lower ranges.  The general court shall set the rates of such tax, may grant reasonable exemptions and abatements, and shall establish no fewer than 5 income brackets, provided, however, that (1) tax on income shall not be increased by more than 0.5 per cent for any tax bracket in any 2-year legislative session; (2) no rate of tax on income shall exceed 9 per cent; (3) the highest tax bracket income range shall be set to comprise approximately the top 5 per cent of earners in the commonwealth; (4) the second highest tax bracket income range shall be set to comprise approximately the sixty-sixth percentile to the ninety-fifth percentile of earners in the commonwealth; (5) the third highest tax bracket income range shall be set to comprise approximately the thirty-sixth percentile to the sixty-fifth percentile of earners in the commonwealth; (6) the fourth highest tax bracket income range shall be set to comprise approximately the sixth percentile to the thirty-fifth percentile of earners in the commonwealth; (7) the fifth highest tax bracket income range shall be set to comprise approximately the lowest 5 per cent of earners in the commonwealth; and (8) the upper and lower limits of the income range assigned to each marginal tax bracket shall be set and published annually by the department of revenue.”