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The MSCPA Legislative Brief offers you information and resources available through federal and state governments regarding business loan programs, Department of Labor (DOL) and Department of Health (DOH) updates, and news as it relates to the impacts of COVID-19 on our profession, the economy and our Society. For more information, visit the MSCPA’s Coronavirus Resource Center.
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 Signs Interim Budget Funding Massachusetts Government through August
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As the Massachusetts legislature continues budget discussions for fiscal year 2021 and tax collection revenue trickles in, Governor Baker signed the second interim budget of the year to fund the state government through August.
Massachusetts lawmakers appear to be waiting for a better understanding of the Commonwealth’s finances and whether we can expect federal assistance to help close the budget gap before announcing the fiscal year 2021 budget. It is entirely possible that we won’t see a draft for next fiscal year’s budget until sometime this fall.
As conversations shift toward economic recovery while facing a daunting $6 billion tax revenue budget gap to close out fiscal year 2020, Massachusetts legislators continue to piece together a budget for next year with limited resources and tax revenue to utilize.
Leading a coalition of business community partners in efforts to spark the conversation surrounding Massachusetts’ recovery process, Amy Pitter and the MSCPA team compiled a list of business tax principles that encourages legislators to ensure that any tax changes be temporary and any new revenues, cuts, and borrowing decrease as the economy begins to recover. The principles are based on widely accepted tax policy principles of fairness, equity, stability and certainly, uniformity and transparency.
To read the business community tax policy principles, click here.
There are several major initiatives waiting for action before the legislature breaks in August. For a summary of the “nine Issues to watch over the next nine days,” please click here.
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White House, Senate GOP Begin Discussions on Next Round of COVID-19 Federal Relief
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The U.S. House of Representatives passed the $3.2 trillion HEROES Act in May that would provide payments of up to $1,200 to individuals, funding for community hospitals, COVID-19 testing, state and local governments and much more, but has met a dead end in the U.S. Senate. This week, White House negotiators and Senate GOP leaders began discussions on the details of their version of the next round of federal relief. While there appears to be some agreement on a few provisions of the HEROES Act, it is unlikely the Senate legislation will be anywhere near $3 trillion. Early reports say that both the White House and GOP Senate are opposed to funding for state and local governments, a main policy point for Democrat lawmakers in the House and Senate.
In efforts to advocate for federal funding for state governments and as we wrote last week, MSCPA President and CEO Amy Pitter led a coalition of 28 state societies of CPAs advocating congressional leadership to prioritize and expedite such relief before tax increases and cuts to critical state programs are implemented.
To read our letter to congressional leadership, click here.
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Massachusetts DOR: How Does the CARES Act Impact Massachusetts State Tax?
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The Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) recently released a blog post outlining the Massachusetts tax implications of the provisions in the CARES Act and how they affect individual and business and corporate tax filers.
To read the Technical Information Release on the Massachusetts Tax Implications of the CARES Act, click here.
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Guidance for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
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DOR & IRS Updates
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UAA Model Rule Change to Support CPA Evolution
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Massachusetts Resources
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Massachusetts Health Connector: The Health Connector extended its enrollment period through July 23 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. If you've lost your health insurance due to a job loss and want to see if you qualify for health coverage, click here.
Reopening Massachusetts: We are in Phase 3 of our Reopening Plan. For more information, click here.
DUA Unemployment Scam:
If you believe you may have had a false unemployment claim filed using your identity, contact the DUA here or at 877.626.6800. Please stay vigilant.
Additional information on this will be posted here as it becomes available.
Division of Local Services (DLS): For those who work with cities and towns across the Commonwealth, the DLS has a dedicated webpage that provides finance guidance to city and town officials related to the state of emergency. For more information, click here.
For urgently needed guidance, please email the DLS.
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Resources for CPAs
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