July 2022: Massachusetts House of Representatives Vote to Amend Cannabis Tax Code

Update Applicable to:
All cannabis businesses in the state of Massachusetts.

What happened?
On May 18, 2022, in a 153-2 vote, the Massachusetts House of Representatives voted to amend the state’s tax code to provide income tax relief for Massachusetts cannabis businesses. 

What are the details?
The Massachusetts House and Senate will go through a conference committee process before both chambers vote on a final bill, which will then be sent to the Governor’s desk for signature. If passed in its current form, Massachusetts would decouple its tax code from Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code, which denies most deductions to cannabis businesses.

Internal Revenue Code Section 280E provides that no deduction or credit shall be allowed for any trade or business consisting of trafficking in controlled substances prohibited by Federal law or the law of any State in which such trade or business is conducted. Because cannabis remains listed as a Schedule I controlled substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act; cannabis businesses are generally not permitted to deduct business expenses on their federal income tax returns.

Business deductions and credits are not permitted at the state level because Massachusetts uses federal taxable income as the starting point for calculating Massachusetts tax liability. The result of the Internal Revenue Code Section 280E is that cannabis businesses incur a significantly higher effective tax rate than businesses in most other sectors.

The pending bill would allow Massachusetts cannabis businesses to deduct business expenses to determine Massachusetts taxable income, potentially resulting in significant tax savings.

For more information, please see the links below:

Bill H.3045 Amendment

Article 1 – Article 2

What do employers need to do?
Employers should review the links above and look for updates and news on the Governor’s signature.