Just in the nick of time, there’s some good news on the corporate reporting front.

The MACPA, the Maryland Chamber of Commerce and the Tax Section of the State Bar testified on Oct. 14 in front of the state’s Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review to request amendments to Maryland’s corporate reporting requirements. The committee granted “conditional approval” to the requirements, with two significant changes:

• The committee granted an extension of the Oct. 15 reporting deadline by 45 days, to Dec. 1. (The actual deadline is Nov. 29, but since that date falls on a Saturday, the due date has been pushed to Dec. 1.)
• The requirements now explicitly state that the comptroller “may, for any reason, issue an order abating or decreasing” the penalties.

Read the amendments to the corporate reporting requirements here.

“The Comptroller’s office and staff have worked above and beyond the call of duty with the MACPA and the business community, given the directive from the Maryland legislature,” said MACPA Executive Director Tom Hood. “They stated in their testimony that they intend to be reasonable with this new requirement and the assessment of late filing penalties.”

Hood urges all Maryland businesses and CPAs to comply with the requirements and help the comptroller meet his reporting deadline to the legislature by filing as timely as possible.

“For those of you who are not sure whether you received a notice or not (or are required to file or not), the comptroller will be sending out a followup reminder to those entities that received notices and that they believe are required to file,” Hood said. “That notice will include a timeframe to respond, after which penalties may be assessed.

“Bottom line: The legislators do listen,” Hood said, “and we need you to continue to support our efforts to continue our success.”

• Make a difference for the CPA profession by attending CPA Day in Annapolis on Jan. 28.
• Visit the MACPA’s corporate reporting resource center.
• Visit the comptroller’s corporate reporting resource center.
• Stay up to date on the latest legislative / regulatory developments by subscribing to our legislative blog.

“I also want to thank the members of our State Tax Committee who have stayed in the forefront of this issue and worked with the comptroller to make this as efficient and painless as possible,” Hood said. “My thoughts are with you as you finish up the second tax season!”