SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2444        FILED ON: 2/19/2021

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2070

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Adam G. Hinds

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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 establishing a public protection division within the department of revenue.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2444        FILED ON: 2/19/2021

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2070

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act establishing a public protection division within the department of revenue.

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. Chapter 14 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after Section 1A, the following new section:-

Section 1B. (a) There shall be within the department of revenue a division of public protection headed by a deputy commission, and such other administrative units as may be established in or assigned to said division from time to time by the commissioner. Said deputy commissioner shall be appointed by the commissioner with the approval of the secretary of administration and finance, and may be removed in like manner, shall be a person of ability and experience and shall devote their entire time to the duties of their office. Said position shall not be subject to the provisions of chapter thirty-one or section nine A of chapter thirty. Said division shall be a separate administrative unit within the department, operating independent of and apart from the operational state and local tax or finance units therein. Said division shall be provided with such resources as may be necessary to carry out its mission as set forth in subsection (b) of this section.

(b) The mission of the division shall be to investigate and regulate practices and transactions undertaken with the primary purpose of reducing or otherwise dodging state tax obligations. The division shall have the authority to collect any necessary information from tax filings to fulfill its mission. The division shall be made aware of any new product commercialized by the tax-planning industry including, but not limited to intragroup sales of intellectual property, investments in false partnerships, and generation-skipping trusts.

(c) The division shall issue reports annually on December 31 detailing its activities, including information about the demographics of the individuals and businesses that the department of revenue placed under audit during the previous calendar year. Said reports shall not include any personal identifying information about any individuals or businesses and shall only contain broad data sets. The division shall file its reports annually with the clerks of the house and senate, the chairs of the joint committee on revenue, and the house and senate chairs of the committees on ways & means. The divisions shall also make the report available to the public online and in printed copy upon request.