Bill > H1616

This bill aims to improve the tax administrative laws of the Commonwealth. It has several key provisions: 1. It allows the Commissioner of Revenue to disallow the asserted tax consequences of a transaction if the sham transaction doctrine or any other related tax doctrine applies, in which case the taxpayer has the burden of demonstrating that the transaction had a valid, good-faith business purpose other than tax avoidance and economic substance apart from the asserted tax benefit. However, this section is not intended to alter the tax treatment of basic business transactions that have been respected at common law. 2. It extends the filing deadline for certain corporate tax returns from 6 months to 7 months. 3. It requires the Commissioner to pay reasonable attorney fees to the taxpayer if the Commissioner fails to accept a taxpayer's offer of 35% or more of the assessed liability in final settlement and the Appellate Tax Board finds for the taxpayer. 4. It modifies the rules for estimated tax payments by corporations. 5. It establishes a tax amnesty program for 2 consecutive months in fiscal year 2017, during which the Commissioner can waive penalties for certain types of non-compliance, subject to certain conditions and limitations.

Budget and Finance

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/190/H1616