Bill > S1572

This bill establishes a "super research and development tax credit" for business corporations and taxpayers in Massachusetts, offering an additional tax credit beyond the existing research expense tax credit. This new credit is calculated as the difference between a business's qualified research expenses for the current year and a "super credit base amount," which is defined as the average of the last five years' qualified research expenses plus 50%. Importantly, "qualified research expenses" are those for research conducted specifically within Massachusetts. The bill also imposes several limitations: the credit cannot exceed 50% of the taxpayer's total tax liability after other credits are applied, and any unused credit can be carried forward for up to five years, with the annual application of the carried-over credit also capped at 50% of the tax due. Furthermore, the credit cannot reduce a business's tax liability below the amount owed in the preceding taxable year after other credits. For corporations filing a combined tax return, credits generated by individual member corporations must first be used against their own tax liability, with any excess potentially being applied to other group members, subject to the same limitations, and unused credits are carried over by the originating corporation.