Archive for category Boston Business Tax Attorney

Massachusetts Health Care Reform, Taxes, and Your Business

According to the state’s website, the goal of health care reform in Massachusetts is to make quality, affordable health care available to every resident.

The law now places certain responsibilities on employers to ensure that health insurance is accessible to as many individuals as possible.

Businesses are affected in many unique ways according to their size. Generally speaking, businesses with fewer than 11 full-time equivalent employees are exempt from most requirements of the law. However, their employees who live in Massachusetts are still required to have health insurance.

Small employers who wish to contribute toward their employees’ group health coverage can purchase health insurance through the Health Connector, or they can purchase through existing channels.

Businesses with 11 or more full-time equivalent employees must offer Section 125 plans to enable their employees, including employees who may not be eligible for the employer’s group health plan, to purchase health insurance on a pre-tax basis.

Those who do not may be required to pay a surcharge if their employees (or dependents of their employees) make significant use of the state’s Health Safety Net, formerly the Uncompensated Care Pool. This is called the Free Rider Surcharge.

If you’re a business owner with questions regarding health care reform as it relates to your business and its taxes, it is important that you discuss the ramifications of health care reform with an experienced business taxation legal professional. You may have several options that you did not realize were available to you.

The Greater Boston Chamber Releases Its Third Competitiveness Scorecard

The Greater Boston Chamber released its third Competitiveness Scorecard, analyzing cost and competitiveness issues facing the Massachusetts economy. This edition focuses on the state’s corporate tax burden and business climate competition. Here are a couple findings:

“In FY 2009, Massachusetts’ corporate tax burden was the 8th highest in the country. This burden is 39% higher than the national average, and higher than a number of states that compete with the Commonwealth for job growth and business expansion. To cite just a few examples, compared to Massachusetts’ corporate tax burden Colorado’s is 76% lower, Connecticut’s is 63% lower, North Carolina’s is 55% lower, and Maryland’s is 40% lower. More examples are provided in the Scorecard.
In FY 2010, Massachusetts ranked the 4th worst on the Tax Foundation’s corporate tax index. The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan, nationally-recognized tax research organization, bases its index ranking on a formula that weighs corporate income tax as well as policies governing net operating losses (NOL), credits, deductions and exemptions, and related tax base issues.”

Source: Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Blog

McLane Law Firm Welcomes Richard M. Stone

April 19, 2010, Manchester, NH and Woburn, Massachusetts – The McLane Law Firm welcomes attorney Richard M. Stone to its TradeCenter 128 office location in Woburn, MA.

About the McLane Law Firm

Founded in 1919, the McLane Law Firm is one of New England’s premier full-service law firms with offices in Manchester, Concord and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, as well as Woburn, Massachusetts. Driven by the firm’s depth of sophisticated legal expertise and an unwavering commitment to client service, McLane has built collaborative and lasting relationships with a broad spectrum of domestic and international clients. www.mclane.com

House Lawmakers Scrap Proposal To Increase Massachusetts Property Taxes

A proposal that could have raised property taxes by up to $500 million was scrapped today by Massachusetts House lawmakers.

Proposition 2 1/2 is a state law that limits property tax increases. The measure was approved by voters in 1980 and changed the way local districts raise taxes in order to pay for municipal services. Under the proposition, local government can not raise property taxes by more than 2.5% per year without getting voter approval.

You can read more about the failed plan here.

Leaders In Opposition To Proposed Ballot Cutting Massachusetts Sales Tax

Leaders are concerned that a proposal in place to cut the state sales tax to 3% would mean devastating cuts in state and municipal services. If approved, it would cost the state about $2.34 billion in revenues.

Another ballot proposal will get rid of the 6.25 percent sales tax on the retail sale of beer, wine and alcohol. If passed, this would cut $100 million in revenues each year from state government.

The concern is that the loss in revenue by the tax cut would be crippling to local government services.

You can read more about the tax cut proposals here.