March 30, 2018

Secretary Michael Heffernan

Executive Office for Administration and Finance

State House, Room 373

Boston, MA  02133

Secretary Stephanie Pollack

Massachusetts Department of Transportation

10 Park Plaza, Room 3170

Boston, Massachusetts, 02116

RE:April 2018 Certification of MBTA Dedicated Sales Tax Revenues for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2018

Dear Secretary Heffernan and Secretary Pollack:

Pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws (MGL) Chapter 10, Section 35T, I certify, after consultation with the Commissioner of Revenue, that the projected dedicated sales tax revenue amount for fiscal 2018 is $1,006,589,256, which includes an additional $160,000,000 as a result of Section 4 of Chapter 359 of the Acts of 2014.  As certified on March 1, 2017 the base revenue amount for fiscal year 2018 is $1,006,806,769.

The projected dedicated sales tax revenue amount is the amount of “all monies received by the Commonwealth equal to 1 per cent of the gross receipts of a sale as defined in chapter 64H and 1 per cent of the sales price of a purchase as defined by chapter 64I from that portion of the taxes imposed under said chapters 64H and 64I as excises upon the sale and use at retail of tangible property or services, and upon the storage, use or other consumption of tangible property or services, including interest thereon and penalties plus the amount of $160,000,000 but not including any portion of the taxes imposed on the sale of meals as defined in paragraph (h) of section 6 of said chapter 64H.”  The calculation of sales and meals taxes dedicated to the MBTA is net of refunds, abatements, and amounts set aside under paragraph (b) of section 10 of chapter 152 of the acts of 1997 (the “Convention Center Portion”).

The projected dedicated sales tax amount was calculated as follows:

Any shortfall in the dedicated sales tax revenue from the base revenue certified on March 1, 2017, and further amended by Section 4 of Chapter 359 of the Acts of 2014, will be made up by quarterly transfers from the General Fund, pursuant to Chapter 10, Section 35T(b) and the Memorandum of Understanding between the MBTA, the Treasurer’s Office, the Executive Office for Administration and Finance, the Comptroller’s Office and DOR.

Should you have any questions on the calculation of this amount, please feel free to call me or Howard Merkowitz, Deputy Comptroller. 

Sincerely yours,

Thomas G. Shack III

Comptroller of the Commonwealth

Cc:Senator Karen Spilka, Chairwoman, Senate Ways and Means

Representative Jeffrey Sánchez, Chairman, House Ways and Means

Deborah B. Goldberg, Treasurer and Receiver General

Christopher Harding, Commissioner of Revenue

David Bunker, House Ways and Means Budget Director

Chris Marino, Senate Ways and Means Budget Director