Massachusetts Sales Tax Decrease Initiative (2018)

Massachusetts Sales Tax Decrease Initiative
Election date November 6, 2018
Topic Taxes
Status Not on the ballot
Type State statute	Origin Citizens
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The Massachusetts Sales Tax Decrease Initiative was not on the ballot in Massachusetts as an indirect initiated state statute on November 6, 2018.

Jon B. Hurst, President of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, filed two versions of the initiative. Version 17-20 would decrease the state sales tax from 6.5 percent to 4.5 percent. Version 17-22 would decrease the state sales tax from 6.5 percent to 5 percent.

Petitioners also filed an initiative designed to decrease the sales tax and add a tax-free weekend provision. The group decided to move forward with signature collection for the version that included the tax-free weekend rather than this initiative.

Text of measure

Petition summary

The attorney general approved two versions of this initiative for circulation:

Initiative 17-20

This proposed law would reduce the state sales and use taxes from their current rate of 6.25% (as of September, 2017) to 4.5%. It would make the same reduction in the rate used to determine the amount non-resident building contractors must deposit with the state Commissioner of Revenue as security for the payment of sales and use tax on goods used in carrying out their contracts. If the reduction in the sales tax proposed by this measure were to cause a public entity funded by the sales tax (for example, the MBTA or the School Building Authority) to be unable to make a debt payment, the proposed law would require the state treasurer to make the payment instead. The state’s liability would be limited to the amount attributable to the sales tax reduction, and the public entity would be required to repay the state within 5 years.

Initiative 17-22

This proposed law would reduce the state sales and use taxes from their current rate of 6.25% (as of September, 2017) to 5.0%. It would make the same reduction in the rate used to determine the amount non-resident building contractors must deposit with the state Commissioner of Revenue as security for the payment of sales and use tax on goods used in carrying out their contracts. If the reduction in the sales tax proposed by this measure were to cause a public entity funded by the sales tax (for example, the MBTA or the School Building Authority) to be unable to make a debt payment, the proposed law would require the state treasurer to make the payment instead. The state’s liability would be limited to the amount attributable to the sales tax reduction, and the public entity would be required to repay the state within 5 years.

Full text

The full text of the measure is available for Initiative 17-20 and Initiative 17-22.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Massachusetts

In Massachusetts, the number of signatures required to place an indirect initiated state statute on the ballot is equal to 3.5 percent of votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. The first 3 percent is collected in order to refer the indirect initiative to the Massachusetts General Court. If members of the General Court pass and the governor signs the initiative, then the initiative becomes law. If the legislature declines to act on an initiative or the governor vetoes it, sponsors of the initiative need to collect additional signatures equal to 0.5 percent of the votes cast for governor.

To make the 2018 ballot, sponsors of this initiative needed to collect the first round of 64,750 signatures between September 20, 2017, and November 22, 2017. Petitioners did not submit signatures for the initiative to the office of the secretary of the commonwealth by the deadline on December 6, 2017. If signatures had been submitted, and the General Court had rejected or not acted on the initiative by May 2, 2018, then an additional 10,792 signatures would have been required by July 4, 2018.

Petitioners filed two versions of the initiative. On September 6, 2017, Attorney General Maura Healey (D) approved both versions of the initiative for signature gathering.

See also

2018 measures

• 2018 ballot measures
• Taxes on the ballot

Massachusetts

• Massachusetts ballot measures
• Massachusetts ballot measure laws

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