Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H3089 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1130 FILED ON: 1/14/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3089
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Tricia Farley-Bouvier and Thomas W. Moakley
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act relative to taxation of digital advertising services.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Tricia Farley-Bouvier2nd Berkshire1/14/2025Thomas W. MoakleyBarnstable, Dukes and Nantucket1/15/2025 1 of 4
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1130 FILED ON: 1/14/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3089
18	18	By Representatives Farley-Bouvier of Pittsfield and Moakley of Falmouth, a petition
19	19	(accompanied by bill, House, No. 3089) of Tricia Farley-Bouvier and Thomas W. Moakley
20	20	relative to taxation of digital advertising services. Revenue.
21	21	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
22	22	_______________
23	23	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
24	24	(2025-2026)
25	25	_______________
26	26	An Act relative to taxation of digital advertising services.
27	27	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
28	28	of the same, as follows:
29	29	1 SECTION 1. Chapter 29 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
30	30	2section 2KKKKK, as inserted by section 1 of chapter 254 of the acts of 2020, the following 2
31	31	3sections:-
32	32	4 Section 2LLLLL. There shall be established and set up on the books of the
33	33	5commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Local Newspaper Trust Fund, hereinafter
34	34	6referred to as the fund, for the purposes of aiding local businesses and promoting an informed
35	35	7populace. The fund shall provide, without further appropriation, grants to newspapers: (i) with a
36	36	8principal place of business within the commonwealth and (ii) circulation not exceeding 50,000
37	37	9on weekdays. The secretary of housing and economic development shall administer the fund,
38	38	10develop eligibility and application requirements and select grant recipients.
39	39	11 The fund shall consist of: (i) fifteen percent of revenue from the tax on digital advertising
40	40	12services within the commonwealth as provided in subsection (d) of section 82 of chapter 63, 2 of 4
41	41	13annually; (ii) interest earned on such revenues; and (iii) funds from public and private sources,
42	42	14including, but not limited to, gifts, federal or private grants, donations, rebates and settlements
43	43	15received by the commonwealth that are specifically designated to be credited to the fund.
44	44	16 No expenditure from the fund shall cause the fund to be in deficiency at the close of a
45	45	17fiscal year. Monies deposited in the fund that are unexpended at the end of the fiscal year shall
46	46	18not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure in the subsequent fiscal
47	47	19year.
48	48	20 Section 2MMMMM. There shall be established and set up on the books of the
49	49	21commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Pre-K and After School Program Trust Fund.
50	50	22The fund shall provide, without further appropriation, grants to the Massachusetts universal pre-
51	51	23kindergarten program, early education and care programs and school-aged child care programs,
52	52	24as defined in section 1A of chapter 15D. The commissioner of elementary and secondary
53	53	25education and commissioner of early education and care shall administer the fund, develop
54	54	26eligibility and application requirements and select grant recipients.
55	55	27 The fund shall consist of: (i) eighty-five per cent of the revenue from the tax on digital
56	56	28advertising services within the commonwealth as provided in subsection (d) of section 82 of
57	57	29chapter 63; (ii) interest earned on such revenues; and (iii) funds from public and private sources,
58	58	30including, but not limited to, gifts, federal or private grants, donations, rebates and settlements
59	59	31received by the commonwealth that are specifically designated to be credited to the fund.
60	60	32 No expenditure from the fund shall cause the fund to be in deficiency at the close of a
61	61	33fiscal year. Monies deposited in the fund that are unexpended at the end of the fiscal year shall 3 of 4
62	62	34not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure in the subsequent fiscal
63	63	35year.
64	64	36 SECTION 2. Chapter 63 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition,
65	65	37is hereby amended by adding the following section:-
66	66	38 Section 82. (a) As used in this section the following terms shall, unless the context clearly
67	67	39requires otherwise, have the following meanings:
68	68	40 “Digital advertising services”, advertisement services on a digital interface, including
69	69	41advertisements in the form of banner advertising, search engine advertising, interstitial
70	70	42advertising and other comparable advertising services.
71	71	43 “Digital interface”, any type of software, including a website, part of a website or an
72	72	44application that a user may access.
73	73	45 “IP address”, a unique string of characters assigned to each device connected to a
74	74	46computer network using the Internet Protocol for communication.
75	75	47 “User”, an individual who accesses a digital interface using a device with an IP address.
76	76	48 (b) There shall be assessed and levied in each calendar year an excise on the sale of
77	77	49digital advertising services within the commonwealth on corporations or companies with revenue
78	78	50from digital advertising services in excess of $25 million per year within the commonwealth.
79	79	51The excise shall be assessed at a rate equal to 5 per cent of the corporation’s or company’s
80	80	52annual revenue from digital advertising services within the commonwealth. A digital advertising
81	81	53service shall be deemed to have been provided within the commonwealth if it is received on a
82	82	54user’s device having an IP address located within the commonwealth. 4 of 4
83	83	55 (c) Corporations or companies with revenue from digital advertising services in excess of
84	84	56$25 million per year within the commonwealth shall remit the excise described in subsection (b)
85	85	57to the commissioner of revenue on a monthly basis.
86	86	58 (d) The commissioner of revenue shall deposit revenue from the excise described in
87	87	59subsection (b) as follows: (i) fifteen percent in the Local Newspaper Trust Fund established in
88	88	60section 2LLLLL of chapter 29, annually; (ii) eighty-five per cent of the annual revenue into the
89	89	61Pre-K and After School Trust Fund established in section 2MMMMM of said chapter 29; and
90	90	62(iii) any remaining funds into the General Fund established in section 2 of said chapter 29.