That’s what the MACPA’s State Tax Committee recommends. Maryland’s new corporate tax reporting requirements were added in the final hours of the special session, which resulted in the enactment of Senate Bill 2: Tax Reform Act of 2007.
Did you know these “onerous” requirements are retroactive for years ending Dec. 31, 2005?
Did you know you could face a fine of $10,000 and five years in jail for failing to comply?
These are just a few of the issues that we think need to be changed. We have worked with a broad coalition of Maryland businesses (led by the Maryland Chamber of Commerce) to introduce two bills that will change these requirements to be much more reasonable. The bills are Senate Bill 444 and House Bill 664. They will be heard before the two tax committees — the House Ways and Means Committee on March 12 and the Senate Budget and Tax Committee, whose meeting has not been scheduled yet.
You should write or e-mail the members of the two tax writing committees, as well as House Speaker Michael Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., prior to March 12 to make an impact.
In the meantime, we have received this guidance from state Comptroller Peter Franchot on how to comply with these reporting requirements (which are currently in effect) for corporate tax returns filed for years ending Dec. 31, 2005 and after:
- You should attach a statement that says, “We hereby acknowledge the reporting requirements set forth in Maryland Senate Bill 2: Tax Reform Act of 2007 and intend to comply with those reporting requirements in a timely manner upon the issuance of guidance from the Maryland Comptroller’s office.“ Then, sign this statement.
The comptroller’s latest guidance can be found here.
Now do you see why we think this needs to be changed?
More resources:
- Our letter supporting the amendments to the Senate Budget and Tax Committee
- An article summarizing these requirements by Bev Richards, CPA, chair of the MACPA’s State Tax Committee
- Brief bullets about the reporting requirements
- Our blog post about the new corporate reporting requirements
- Background from Karen Syrylo, CPA, of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce and a member of MACPA’s State Tax Committee