SENATE DOCKET, NO. 863        FILED ON: 1/16/2019

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1646

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

James B. Eldridge

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act improving the earned income credit for healthier families.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 863        FILED ON: 1/16/2019

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1646

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 1521 OF 2017-2018.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

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An Act improving the earned income credit for healthier families.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Section 6 of chapter 62 of the General Laws, as amended by section 30 of chapter 154 of the acts of 2018, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (h) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(h) (1) A taxpayer shall be allowed a credit against the taxes imposed by this chapter if such person qualified for and claimed the earned income credit, so called, allowed under the provisions of section 32 of the Code, as amended and in effect for the taxable year, or such person would otherwise have qualified for the earned income credit or would have been able to claim additional qualifying children for the earned income credit but for subsection (m) of section 32 of the Code. With respect to a person who is a nonresident for all or part of the taxable year, the credit shall be limited to 50 per cent of the federal credit multiplied by a fraction the numerator of which shall be the earned income of the nonresident from Massachusetts sources and the denominator of which shall be the earned income of the nonresident from all sources. The credit allowed by this subsection shall equal 50 per cent of the federal credit received by the taxpayer, or otherwise eligible to be received by the taxpayer but for subsection (m) of section 32 of the Code for the taxable year. If other credits allowed under this section are utilized by the taxpayer for the taxable year, the credit afforded by this subsection shall be applied last. If the amount of the credit allowed hereunder exceeds the taxpayer's liability, the commissioner shall treat such excess as an overpayment and shall pay the taxpayer the amount of such excess, without interest.

(2) For the purposes of this subsection, a married taxpayer shall satisfy the joint filing requirement under section 32 of the Code if the taxpayer files an income tax return using a filing

status of married filing separately and the taxpayer: (i) is living apart from the taxpayer’s spouse at the time the taxpayer files the tax return; (ii) is unable to file a joint return because the taxpayer is a victim of domestic abuse; and (iii) indicates on the taxpayer’s income tax return that the taxpayer meets the criteria of clauses (i) and (ii).

(3) No credit shall be allowed under this subsection for any taxable year within (1) the period of 10 taxable years after the most recent taxable year for which there was a final determination by the commissioner that the taxpayer’s claim of the credit under this subsection was based on information that the taxpayer knew or had reason to know was false, fraudulent or deliberately misleading as to a material matter, or (2) the period of 2 taxable years after the most recent taxable year for which there was a final determination by the commissioner that the taxpayer’s claim of credit under this subsection was due to careless, reckless or intentional disregard by the taxpayer of the tax laws of the commonwealth or of public written statements issued by the commissioner.

(4) In order to ensure the widest possible dissemination of the state and federal earned income credit, the department shall: (i) provide all employers with a multilingual poster and a notice that sets forth the rights to the earned income credit under this chapter; (ii) require that all employers doing business in the commonwealth post information about the earned income credit in a conspicuous location at the place of employment; (iii) coordinate a notification system by the commonwealth about the earned income credit to applicants for and recipients of unemployment insurance under chapter 151A, applicants for and recipients of transitional assistance benefits, including food stamps, under chapter 18, and to recipients of subsidized health insurance under chapter 118E; and (iv) collaborate with labor organizations, chambers of commerce, municipalities, community-based organizations, and taxpayer advocates to disseminate information about the earned income credit. The multilingual poster and notice requirement in clause (i) shall comply with the requirements for employer’s unemployment notices under clauses (i) and (iii) of subsection (d) of section 62A of chapter 151A.

SECTION 2. Section 1 of this act shall be effective January 1, 2020.