This session Jamie has filed the following bills to increase revenue for the Commonwealth and create a fairer tax code:

An Act applying the sales tax to certain retail sales over the internet

In a 1992 decision, Quill v. North Dakota, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that retailers are exempt from collecting sales taxes in states where they have no physical presence, such as a store, office, or warehouse.  As a result, companies like Amazon.com collect no sales tax on items they sell to Massachusetts residents, even when the good is marketed by affiliates in Massachusetts.  Modeled on legislation recently passed in New York, this bill would require out-of-state retailers—such as Amazon.com, Inc. and Overstock.com, Inc.—to collect a use tax from in-state consumers if the retailers have marketing affiliates in the state which produce at least $10,000 in sales.

A proposal for a legislative amendment to the constitution creating a progressive income tax

This amendment to the constitution would allow the legislature to implement a graduated income tax, just like the federal income tax and the tax systems of 35 other states, in order to spread the tax burden more equitably.  Under such a system, the Commonwealth could cut taxes for working families and the middle class and still raise the revenue necessary to address the structural deficit.

An Act Relative to Local Taxation of Telephone and Telegraph Corporation machinery

This bill eliminates the remaining property tax exemption for certain machinery owned by incorporated telephone and telegraph companies and makes the corporations subject to the same machinery exemptions as regular business corporations.