Massachusetts H 2590: An Act establishing a tax credit for artist work space

Bill Text

1 of 1
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2258 FILED ON: 1/19/2017
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2590

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Ann-Margaret Ferrante
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act establishing a tax credit for artist work space.
_______________
PETITION OF:

NAME: DISTRICT/ADDRESS: DATE ADDED:
Ann-Margaret Ferrante 5th Essex 1/19/2017
Brendan P. Crighton Third Essex 1/31/2017
Sarah K. Peake 4th Barnstable 1/31/2017
Carlos González 10th Hampden 1/19/2017
Michelle M. DuBois 10th Plymouth 1/19/2017

1 of 9
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2258 FILED ON: 1/19/2017
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2590
By Ms. Ferrante of Gloucester, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2590) of Ann-
Margaret Ferrante and others for legislation to establish an artist workspace tax credit. Revenue.

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 3291 OF 2015-2016.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)
_______________

An Act establishing a tax credit for artist work space.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:

1 SECTION 1. Chapter 62 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
2 section 6N, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, the following section:-
3 Section 6O. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following words shall, unless the
4 context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-
5 “Commissioner”, the commissioner of revenue.
6 “Cultural district”, a geographical area of a city or town within the commonwealth
7 designated as a cultural district pursuant to the provisions of section 58A of chapter 10.
8 “Department”, the department of housing and community development, or its successor
9 agency.

2 of 9
10 “Eligibility statement”, a statement authorized and issued by the department certifying
11 that a given project is a qualified project. The department shall, in consultation with the
12 commissioner, promulgate regulations establishing criteria upon which the eligibility statements
13 will be issued. The eligibility statement shall specify the maximum annual amount of the
14 Massachusetts artist work shop tax credit authorized. The department shall only authorize the tax
15 credits to qualified projects which are placed in service on or after January 1, 2016.
16 “Qualified project”, a project for the construction of a new building located in a cultural
17 district, or renovation of an existing building located in a cultural district, providing artists with
18 the workspace necessary to produce art, which meets the requirements of this section.
19 “Taxpayer”, a person, firm, partnership or other entity subject to the income tax imposed
20 by the provisions of this chapter hired as a contractor, subcontractor or otherwise to perform
21 construction on a qualified project.
22 (b)(1) There shall be a Massachusetts artist workspace tax credit. The department may
23 authorize annually under this section together with section 38GGH of chapter 63 the total sum
24 of: (i) $20,000,000; (ii) unused Massachusetts artist workspace tax credits, if any, for the
25 preceding calendar years; and (iii) Massachusetts artist workspace tax credits returned to the
26 department by a qualified project.
27 (2) Unless otherwise provided in this section or the context clearly requires otherwise, the
28 department shall authorize, administer, determine eligibility for the Massachusetts artist
29 workspace tax credit.

3 of 9
30 (3) The department shall allocate the total available Massachusetts artist workspace tax
31 credit among as many qualified projects as fiscally feasible, with the goal of increasing the
32 commonwealth's stock of artist workspace.
33 (c)(1) A taxpayer may be allowed a state tax credit with respect to a qualified project,
34 provided that the department issues an eligibility statement for that qualified project. This state
35 tax credit shall be termed the Massachusetts artist workspace tax credit.
36 (2) The total Massachusetts artist workspace tax credit available to a qualified project
37 shall be authorized and allocated by the department, or its successor agency, based on the
38 qualified project's need for the credit for economic feasibility.
39 (3) The Massachusetts artist workspace tax credit shall be taken against the taxes
40 imposed under this chapter, claimed equally for 5 years, subtracted from the amount of state tax
41 otherwise due for each taxable period and shall not be refundable. Any amount of the artist
42 workspace tax credit that exceeds the tax due for a taxable year may be carried forward to any of
43 the 5 subsequent taxable years.
44 (4)