Massachusetts: Department Amends Corporate Income Tax Nexus Regulation Post-Wayfair

The Massachusetts Department of Revenue has proposed amendments to a regulation that addresses the circumstances under which corporations will be subject to Massachusetts corporate excise tax. The regulation sets forth examples of contacts and other incidents that will typically subject a corporation to Massachusetts’ taxing jurisdiction, including, but not limited to, owning or using property in the state, having employees or representatives in the state, or owning or using intangible property in the state. A new “catch-all” provision, which includes a cite to the Wayfair decision, applies to companies that lack any of the specifically enumerated contacts but that have considerable in-state sales derived through either economic or virtual contacts. The regulation does not specifically adopt a particular revenue or transaction threshold for determining what is “considerable”  in-state sales. The regulation also addresses when financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate partners will be subject to tax in Massachusetts. A hearing on the regulation will be held on June 4, 2019. Please stay tuned to TWIST for future nexus updates.