Gov closes corporate tax loopholes

LYNN – Marisol Santiago of Lynn had reason to celebrate Thursday after returning from a meeting with Gov. Deval Patrick.”This is a great day,” said the North Shore’s lead organizer for Neighbor to Neighbor, a grassroots coalition of community and labor organizations. “We have been fighting to close these corporate tax loopholes for years and finally the new governor has seen the importance of it. He has signed the bill to make it happen.”Santiago said the bill accomplishes several reforms. “This will prevent multi-national companies from shifting profits out of Massachusetts,” she said. “It will increase resources for public investments in schools, our infrastructure, and other building blocks of a strong economy.”According to Santiago, the loopholes are being closed in response to a five-year grassroots campaign led by Neighbor to Neighbor. The group’s low-income members made thousands of calls to legislators in support of closing loopholes, organized hundreds of meetings within their legislative districts, and brought hundreds of people to the State House in support of the issue.The bill is expected to raise nearly $300 million in revenue this year and $150 million annually when fully implemented, she said, noting that it combines closing corporate tax loopholes with a cut in the corporate tax rate to 8 percent.Neighbor to Neighbor is concerned that some measures included in the bill will continue to allow a certain level of tax avoidance, but see the measure as a positive step overall.”This will level the playing field for local businesses,” said Karen Arsenault, a Neighbor to Neighbor activist in Lynn. “I’m glad that multi-national companies making profits in Massachusetts will be making more of a contribution to our state.”Lynn School Committee member Maria Carrasco praised Gov. Patrick for signing the bill. “We knew this campaign made sense, especially in support for small businesses that are paying their share. Closing corporate tax loopholes is one of the fairest ways to get the critical funding needed in our state, for education and other local services,” she said.