Legislative Brief_MassCPAs

News & Updates from the Government Affairs Team

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MassCPAs Interview with Massachusetts State Auditor Candidates

MassCPAs Government Affairs team, in collaboration with members of MassCPAs Governmental Accounting and Auditing Committee, interviewed the candidates running for Massachusetts State Auditor, former Assistant Secretary of Transportation Chris Dempsey and State Senator Diana DiZoglio.

To read the interview in the May digital issue of SumNews, click here.

Please note: The Anthony Amore campaign did not respond to our requests for comment.

Massachusetts House of Representatives Passes Cannabis Industry Bill; Decouples Massachusetts from Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code

The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed legislation relating to equity in the Massachusetts cannabis industry. We are pleased to report the House adopted Amendment number 9, which would decouple Massachusetts from Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and allow for cannabis businesses to take the same business deductions as all other businesses. MassCPAs was proud to submit testimony supporting the amendment to decouple from Section 280E of the IRC as this has been a longtime priority for members working with clients in the cannabis industry. You can read our testimony here.

Thank you to House Revenue Chair Representative Mark Cusack for sponsoring and to Representative David Rogers for co-sponsoring the amendment. We are grateful to the House for adopting the amendment to the legislation. Dan Adams at The Boston Globe has more on the details of the cannabis bill here.

Special thanks to Charlotte Cathro, CPA, of Cathro LLC and chair of MassCPAs Cannabis Committee, and to our Cannabis Committee for their work and advocacy. We look forward to working with the Legislature to advocate for this amendment to remain in the final bill and passed into law.

To join our Cannabis Committee, click here.

Massachusetts Senate to Debate $49.7 Billion FY23 Budget Next Week

The Massachusetts Senate is set to debate its $49.7 billion FY23 budget proposal next week. Included in the budget proposal is language that conforms the Massachusetts individual tax rules to the version of the federal IRC in effect on January 1, 2022, and decouples the MA individual income tax rules from the federal qualified business income deduction. Those updates are also included in both the Governor’s and House budget proposals and we do not anticipate there to be any changes to the language. To read the Senate budget proposal, click here.

Like the House, the Senate did not include the tax relief policies proposed alongside Governor Baker’s budget proposal filed earlier this year. Last week, Senate President Karen Spilka directed the Senate to take up said tax relief once the budget deliberations have concluded. Shira Schoenberg at CommonWealth Magazine has more on the Senate budget and tax relief here.

We are grateful to Senate President Karen Spilka, Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues, the Massachusetts Senate and staff for including the update to the state's personal income tax conformity date and pleased that both the Administration and Legislature have made this important policy update a priority in their budgets.

We look forward to ongoing discussions with the Senate and their staff throughout their budget deliberations and will keep you posted on all developments as they arise.

Interested in helping with our advocacy efforts? Sign up to be a CPA Advocate today!

June 30 Renewal Deadline for Even-Year CPA Licensees

The deadline for even-year licensees is June 30! To access your ePLACE Portal account and renew your license, click here.

Please ensure that the Board has your correct address on file. If you have not linked your license to your online account, you will need an authorization code, which can be requested here. For a step-by-step guide on how to create an ePLACE Portal account, renew your license, receive an authorization code and more, click here.

CPA Firm Renewal Affidavit Forms are due by August 1, 2022. To access the 2022 Firm Affidavit Form, click here.

To check your CPE credits, use our CPE Tracker, which is free to all MassCPAs members. For directions on how to export the CPE tracking sheet to your license renewal form, click here.

Please note: You may experience technical issues when accessing the page via Internet Explorer or a search on a mobile device. If this occurs, please use a different internet browser to renew your license.

The Board of Public Accountancy is aware that renewals prior to April 12, 2022, were renewed for only one year and expire on June 30, 2023, rather than 2024. If your renewal was impacted, your license will be reissued in the coming weeks with the correct expiration date. If your renewal was impacted but you do not receive a new license by July 30, please email the Board for an update.

Federal and State Tax News

REMINDER: Important security update for your MassCPAs.org password

The new MassCPAs.org launched on March 8, 2022, and as part of our enhanced security, you will need to update your password the first time you log into the new site – this is a one-time change to help protect your information. Visit MassCPAs.org/login, click “Forgot Password” and a link will be emailed to you to reset your password.

We're working to keep you informed in a world that changes by the minute. If you have anything you'd like to share, or if we can help you in any way, please email Zach Donah or Larry Liuzzo.

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