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News & Updates from the MSCPA’s Government Affairs Team
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We're working to keep you informed in a world that changes by the minute. If you have anything you'd like to share, or if we can help you in any way, please reach out to Zach Donah at zdonah@mscpaonline.org or 617.303.2411, or Larry Liuzzo at lliuzzo@mscpaonline.org or 617.303.2405.
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Governor Baker Releases Updated Fiscal Year 2021 Budget
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This week, Governor Baker released an updated budget for Fiscal Year 2021 based on revised revenue estimates. The $45 billion budget raises no taxes, ensures no budget cuts and projects a roughly $3.6 billion revenue shortfall than what was originally forecasted in January 2020 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new budget comes a week after an economic roundtable coordinated by the Joint Committee on Ways and Means and the Executive Office for Administration and Finance. The Governor’s new budget provides better context of the fiscal state
of the Commonwealth for lawmakers as they continue their own discussions on how to best craft a budget for the remaining months of the current fiscal year.
The revised budget calls for a withdrawal of up to $1.35 billion from the Commonwealth’s Stabilization Fund, a figure that could be reduced based on whether tax collections exceed expectations. According to the fiscal overview provided by the Governor’s office, the budget is built to absorb the “income tax rate decrease from 5.05% to 5% effective January 1, 2020” and proposes a one-year delay for the state charitable deduction scheduled to begin January 1, 2021.
Also included in the Governor’s budget are sales tax modernization provisions that would:
- Require that vendors file returns for the sales and use tax, the local option meals excise and the room occupancy tax within 30 days after the relevant filing period;
- Require vendors to remit an initial payment of the sales and use tax, the local option meals excise and room occupancy tax, if said vendors collected more than $150,000 in the previous year;
- Require(s) third-party processors (predominantly credit card companies) to remit to the Commonwealth on a daily basis, the portion of a sale that is attributable to sales tax, with an effective date of July 1, 2024; and
- Impose civil penalties on those who sell or install "zapper" software, which is software that falsifies the electronic records of electronic cash registers and other point-of-sale systems.
The Governor also included language relative to partnership audits, which would enable the Department of Revenue (DOR) to collect tax from partnerships or from individual partners in cases where the partnership accounts for the federal tax as a result of changes in federal partnership auditing rules in order to avoid significant revenue loss.
The legislature will debate the Governor’s revised budget and will likely offer its own budget sometime after the November 3 elections.
We will update you once we know more.
| Early Voting Begins This Saturday (10/17)
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Massachusetts voters can cast their votes for the November general election beginning this Saturday, October 17.
To find your early voting location, click here. Contact your town clerk’s office with any questions you may have.
Please note: Early voting ends Friday, October 30.
| 2020 General Election Information and Voter Resources
| The November 3 general elections are less than a month away. Are you registered to vote? Do you plan to vote early, by mail or in person on Tuesday, November 3? Where is your polling place? Do you know what Question 1 and Question 2 ask or how you are voting?
Important Election Dates and Links
- To register to vote or to check your registration, click here
(Please note: The voter registration deadline is Saturday, October 24);
- To apply to vote by mail, click here (Please note: The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is next Tuesday, October 20);
- To vote in-person on Tuesday, November 3, polls are open 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.; and
- To find each candidate who will appear on your ballot, click here.
Question 1: Motor Vehicle Mechanical Data
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YES vote would provide motor vehicle owners and independent repair facilities with expanded access to wirelessly transmitted mechanical data related to their vehicles’ maintenance and repair; and
- A
NO
vote would make no change in the law governing access to vehicles’ wirelessly transmitted mechanical data.
Question 2: Ranked-Choice Voting
- A
YES
vote would create a system of ranked-choice voting in which voters would have the option to rank candidates in order of preference and votes would be counted in rounds, eliminating candidates with the lowest votes until one candidate has received a majority; and
- A
NO vote would make no change in the laws governing voting and how votes are counted.
For summaries and the full text of both ballot questions, click here.
For all 2020 general election information and voter resources, click here.
| Guidance for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
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| IRS Update
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