Budget Amendment ID: FY2024-S3-787
OTH 787
Improving Massachusetts’ competitiveness and reduce the cost of living
Messrs. Tarr and O'Connor moved that the proposed new text be amended SECTION 1. Section 6 of said chapter 62, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 245 and 250, the figure “30”, each time it appears, and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following figure:- 40.
SECTION 2. Subparagraph (9) of paragraph (a) of part B of section 3 of chapter 62 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 109, the figure “3,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 5,000.
SECTION 3. Paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of section 4 of said chapter 62, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting, in line 5, after the word “cent” the following words:- provided, however, that any gain from the sale or exchange of capital assets held for 1 year or less shall be taxed at the rate of 5 per cent.
SECTION 4. Paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of section 5 of said chapter 62, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 6, the words “eight thousand dollars” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $12,550.
SECTION 5. Said subsection (a) of said section 5 of said chapter 62, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out paragraph (2) and inserting in place thereof the following 2 paragraphs:-
(2) in the case of a husband and wife filing a joint return, $25,100, or
(3) in the case of a person filing as head of household, $18,800.
SECTION 6. Paragraph (2) of subsection (k) of section 6 of said chapter 62, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 447, the figure “750” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 1,755.
SECTION 7. Said section 6 of chapter 62 of the General Laws is hereby further amended by striking out subsections (x) and (y), and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
(x)(1) As used in this subsection, the following words shall have the following meanings:
“Eligible dependent”, an individual who is either (i) under the age of 13 and who qualifies for exemption as a dependent under section 151 of the Code; or (ii) not less than 65 years of age and who qualifies as a dependent under section 152 of the Code; or (iii) disabled and who qualifies as a dependent under section 152 of the Code.
“Maintains a household”, the same meaning as defined in section 21 of the Code.
(2) A taxpayer who maintains a household that includes as a member an eligible dependent shall be allowed a credit in an amount equal to $600 for each such eligible dependent; provided, that the credit provided in this subsection shall be allowed only if the taxpayer and the taxpayer’s spouse file a joint return for the taxable year or if the taxpayer qualifies as a head of household under section 2(b) of the Code; and provided further, that for the purposes of this subsection, “maintains a household” shall have the same meaning as in section 21 of the Code. With respect to a taxpayer who is a non-resident for part of the taxable year, the credit shall be further limited to the amount of allowable credit multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the number of days in the taxable year the person resided in the commonwealth and the denominator of which shall be the number of days in the taxable year. A person who is a non-resident for the entire taxable year shall not be allowed the credit. If the amount of the credit allowed under this subsection exceeds the taxpayer’s tax liability, the commissioner shall treat the excess as an overpayment and shall pay the taxpayer the entire amount of the excess without interest.
SECTION 8. Subsection (a) of section 6 of chapter 62C of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, each time it appears, in line 4, lines 6 to 7 and line 17, the words “eight thousand dollars” and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- the thresholds specified in subsection (a) of section five of chapter sixty-two.
SECTION 9. Section 2A of chapter 65C of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (a) and inserting in place the following subsection:-
(a) A tax is hereby imposed upon the transfer of the estate of each person dying on or after January 1, 1997 who, at the time of death, was a resident of the commonwealth. The amount of the tax shall be equal to the credit for state death taxes that would have been allowable to a decedent’s estate as computed under Code section 2011, as in effect on December 31, 2000, hereinafter referred to as the “credit”. In the event that the federal gross estate of a person includes real or tangible personal property located outside of Massachusetts at the time of death, the tax shall be reduced by an amount equal to the proportion of such allowable credit as the value of said real or tangible personal property located outside of Massachusetts bears to the value of the entire federal gross estate wherever situated, as determined under Code section 2011, as in effect on December 31, 2000.
SECTION 10. Said section 2A of said chapter 65C, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following subsection:-
(f) Effective for the estates of decedents dying on or after July 1, 2022, for purposes of computing the tax imposed by subsections (a) and (b), the credit shall be determined based on the value of the federal taxable estate after such estate is reduced by $2,000,000. Estates of decedents dying on or after July 1, 2022 are not required to pay any tax under subsections (a) and (b) if the value of the federal taxable estate is $2,000,000 or less. For purposes of this subsection, the federal taxable estate is the federal gross estate less any Qualified Conservation Exclusion elected under Code section 2031(c), as in effect on December 31, 2000, and further reduced by the deductions allowable by the Code, as in effect on December 31, 2000.
SECTION 11. Sections 9 and 10 shall take effect for the estates of decedents dying on or after July 1, 2023.
SECTION 12. Except as otherwise specified, this act shall take effect for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2023."