On July 3, 2008, Governor Patrick signed a corporate tax bill that couples changes in tax policy with a corporate tax rate cut.

Despite unified support among state government leaders to advance such a package, agreement on how these policy changes and rate cuts would be crafted was far from certain.  Several key provisions advocated by the Chamber have been included in the final package - including a clear definition of policy changes and phased-in corporate tax relief that, when fully implemented, will move this package closer to revenue-neutrality. 

It is true that changes in long-standing corporate tax policies have an impact on economic competitiveness - both in perception and reality.  However, the impact of such tax code changes can be mitigated when crafted in a clear, transparent, and discretion-limiting manner, while providing much-needed tax rate relief to businesses currently paying some of the highest rates in the nation.  A quick summary of the bill is included below. 

Tax Rate Cuts - Lowers the current rate for C-corporations of 9.5% (fourth-highest in the nation) to 8.75% in 2010, and makes further reductions to 8.0% by 2012.  The bill also cuts the rate paid by financial services institutions from 10.5% to 9.0% during that same timeframe and provides similar phased-in rate relief to S-corporations.  None of these tax cuts would be predicated on economic triggers, as had previously been considered by the legislature.

Policy Changes - Implements mandatory unitary combined reporting with a water's-edge election and the following provisions: adoption of a 10-year binding federal consolidated return election; inclusion of Federal Accounting Standards (FAS) 109 relief - a deduction designed to mitigate the financial reporting impact on net deferred tax liabilities or assets; and sharing of credits and net operating losses within a combined group.  The bill also establishes conformity to federal "check-the-box" provisions for entity classification.  The bill includes strict limitations on Dept. of Revenue discretionary powers in administering changes to the corporate tax code.

Studies - Establishes special municipal relief commission to study options for new and expanded local taxes, directs the Dept. of Revenue to prepare a feasibility study regarding conformity to the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, and establishes a special legislative commission to further review state corporate tax laws (modernization and simplification of the current business tax laws, including the rate structure; reporting mechanisms of corporations; and the use and effectiveness of the single-sales factor apportionment formula).

The Chamber will continue to monitor this legislation as it is implemented.

Yesterday, Joshua Boger, president & CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, addressed the Chamber's Life Science Forum. In his presentation, Dr. Boger discussed some of the company's experimental drugs, as well as his positive outlook for the biotechnology industry here in the Commonwealth.


Photos of the event can be seen here.

Read more about Dr. Boger's comment in the Boston Herald, or on boston.com.

The Chamber's May 2008 Monthly Jobs Update, released today, shows that Massachusetts added 1,400 jobs last month.

Other key findings include:

• Massachusetts posted 0.4% job growth over the last 12 months, which ranks the state 25th nationally
• Four of 12 regions added jobs over the last 12 months
• Greater Boston and Metro West regions grew fastest
• State remains 92,100 jobs below previous peak
• State manufacturing jobs down 1.3% last 12 months; only Berkshire Country and Metro West regions added manufacturing jobs

Compare this month against previous jobs reports here.

For more information on the Chamber's Job Creation Policy Agenda and ongoing advocacy, please visit the Chamber's Policy & Research page.

The Chamber is pleased to announce that the 10-year, $1 billion Massachusetts Life Sciences Initiative was overwhelmingly passed by the Legislature last week and signed into law by the Governor on Monday. Click here to access the Chamber's latest Life Sciences Policy Update.

With the passage of this bill, Massachusetts can grow its leadership in this critical industry cluster, drive advancements in cutting-edge fields of research, and retain more of the bright young researchers graduating from our colleges and universities.

As you may know, the Chamber had testified in support of and worked to advance the goals of this initiative, which seeks to secure Massachusetts’ global leadership in the life sciences industry through a series of tax incentives, capital expenditures, training initiatives, research grants and other targeted life sciences investments. Included in this law is a Chamber-filed tax reform that extends the net operating loss (NOL) carry-forward period for life sciences companies in Massachusetts. 

Greater Boston’s life science cluster is vital to the regional economy and global community – improving healthcare delivery and outcomes, producing life-saving therapies and vaccines, and supporting thousands of high-quality jobs. The Chamber applauds the enactment of this landmark law and looks forward to engaging member companies in the life sciences industry and working with state government leaders and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center during the critical implementation phase of this legislation.

For more information on the Chamber’s focus in the life sciences industry, click here. And don't miss the Chamber's Life Sciences Forum on June 26 at the the Boston Harbor Hotel with featured speaker Dr. Joshua Boger, Ph.D., president & CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Click here to register.

The Red Sox are in full swing and the thermometer has hit 90 degrees. That means the official start of the summer season is just around the corner. And the Chamber has a great line-up of events to help you stay active and beat the heat this summer!

Below, please find details on our free events in June and July that will be sure to keep you informed and your network growing. Click on each event to access registration information. And make sure to visit our Events Calendar for the most up-to-date listing of 2008 programs.

June 24	Chamber Networking Group
	Location: Rebecca's Cafe at One Beacon
	The Chamber Networking Group provides a more intimate forum for small- to medium-size member companies looking to expand their network of business contacts, generate new business leads, and learn the most effective strategies for networking. Members take part in facilitated networking sessions and break-out group discussions, and have the opportunity to develop new relationships.
	Sponsored by FedEx; Hosted by Rebecca's Cafe
July 9	Boston After Five
	Location: Bank of America Pavilion
	At these informal after-hours receptions, Chamber members have the opportunity to meet and network with other members of the business community. Meet potential clients and colleagues and enjoy the warm summer weather from one of the city's leading entertainment venues.
	Hosted by Live Nation
July 17	Member Orientation
	Location: UMass Club
	All Chamber members who are interested in increasing their involvement are invited to attend this breakfast meeting. This informative program will cover all of the opportunities available to you through your Chamber membership. You will leave this breakfast with new ideas for your company, as well as many new contacts. If you're new to the Chamber, this is a great opportunity to meet fellow Chamber members and the Chamber staff, and learn how best to get engaged.
	Hosted by UMass Club
July 22	Annual Business Showcase
	Location: Back Bay Events Center
	The second annual Business Showcase is a unique opportunity for Chamber members to connect with Greater Boston’s outstanding small businesses. The Business Showcase will allow exhibitors and attendees to generate qualified leads in multiple industries in the Greater Boston region and network with our small business community.
	Sponsored by Back Bay Events Center

The Member Services team is here to help you and every employee in your company take advantage of these opportunities. If you have any questions regarding your membership or how your company can get more involved with the Chamber, please don't hesitate to call Sarah McNeeley at (617) 557-7353 or send an e-mail to smcneeley@bostonchamber.com. 

We look forward to seeing you over the summer!

Senate President Therese Murray was the featured speaker at yesterday's Government Affairs Forum. During the breakfast, Murray focused her remarks on the legislative efforts to grow jobs in Massachusetts. She touched on numerous topics, from the life sciences bill to the effort to repeal the state income tax. For more details on the speech, click here.

Murray's remarks were also covered by the Boston Herald, Boston Business Journal, and WBZ-TV. Murray also commented on the presidential race, which was covered by boston.com.

For a complete set of high-resolution images from yesterday's breakfast, click here

Murray's speech will be re-broadcast on 90.9 WBUR-FM on Sunday, June 15 at 8 p.m.

The Chamber would like to thank Bank of America for their continuous support of the Government Affairs Forum.

Last week, State Treasurer Timothy Cahill addressed the Chamber's Government Affairs Forum.

In his speech, Cahill discussed the Massachusetts economy, with a special focus on state spending, pensions, transportation borrowing, and casino gambling.

Additional coverage by the Boston Herald can be seen here.
Quoted remarks made by the treasurer can be seen here in the Metro.
Photos from the event can be seen here.

The Greater Boston Chamber's Annual Meeting & Dinner is just two days away! On Wednesday, May 14 at the Boston Marriott Copley Place we hope that you will take advantage of this opportunity to connect and celebrate with nearly 1,500 fellow business leaders from every industry across Massachusetts!

Some of the region's most prominent organizations will be in attendance. Companies supporting the Chamber's 99th Annual Meeting & Dinner as lead sponsors include: 

• Citizens Bank
• Constellation NewEnergy
• Eastern Bank
• Microsoft
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA
• Bank of America
• Northeastern University
• Bingham McCutchen LLP
• Partners HealthCare System
• National Grid
• Citibank North America
• Iron Mountain, Inc.
• Procter & Gamble
• The Boston Globe
• Goodwin Procter LLP
• Edgewater Technology
• Boston Culinary Group
• State Street Corporation
• Ropes & Gray
• SBLI
• Bentley College
• PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
• Suffolk Construction Co.
• Bank of New York Mellon
• Interface Group - MA
• Boston University
• KPMG LLP
• Mass. Convention Center Authority
• Weber Shandwick Worldwide

The Annual Meeting is the premier event on our program calendar, and is recognized as one of the largest gatherings of business leaders in the region. I hope that you will take advantage of this opportunity to connect and celebrate with fellow business leaders.

Click here to register for the Chamber's 99th Annual Meeting & Dinner!

The Chamber's Monthly Jobs Update reveals that Massachusetts has added 23,400 jobs in the last March 2007 a year-to-year job growth rate of posts 0.7%.

Other highlights of this month's update include:

• Nine of 12 regions added jobs in the last 12 months; Metro South and Metro West are growing the fastest.

• State remains 91,400 jobs below previous peak.

• State financial services jobs down 0.7% in the last 12 months; only two of 12 regions added jobs in the last 12 months.

To View all of the Chamber's previous Job Updates click here.

On Sunday's edition of This Week in Business, Tom Kinton, CEO of Massport, will join Paul Guzzi and Mike Nikitas to discuss the continued turmoil in the airline industry and its impact on Logan Airport.

Then, Dr. Tom Lee, network president of Partners Healthcare, will join Paul and Mike to discuss health care costs.

Plus, NECN's Peter Howe on Liberty Mutual's acquisition of Safeco Insurance.

Be sure to tune in Sunday at 12:30 on NECN.

On April 10, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a corporate tax bill which coupled a rate cut with several policy changes.  The issue now goes to the state Senate, where the Chamber will continue to work for tax legislation that strengthens employers' ability to compete and grow in Massachusetts.
 
The Chamber has been a consistent advocate for lower Massachusetts corporate tax rates; the current rate of 9.5% is the fourth-highest in the country.  The House bill lowers that rate to 8.75% in 2009, and makes further reductions to 7.5% if revenue growth thresholds are met.  A provision was also added which will lower the corporate income tax burden on financial services institutions by cutting their rate from 10.5% to 9.0%. 
 
The House bill also includes combined reporting and federal conformity ("check the box") tax policy changes.  The original version of the bill gave wide discretion to the Department of Revenue (DOR) in administering these changes to the corporate tax code, but the final bill includes important limits on such discretion.  The Chamber and other business groups strongly advocated for these limits, as they are critical to establishing a clear, predictable, litigation-minimizing tax process for Massachusetts businesses. 
 
The Chamber will continue to work hard for a bill which includes a significant rate cut and limits on DOR discretion.  In this time of economic uncertainty, a competitive tax climate is especially important to employers as you work to grow and create jobs here in Massachusetts. 

Earlier today, Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce president & CEO Paul Guzzi released the following statement on the corporate tax bill that is currently before the Massachusetts House of Representatives:

"The Chamber, on behalf of its 1,700 member companies that employ hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents, urges the Legislature to enact a tax bill that includes a reduction in the corporate tax rate to 7.0%. 

The Massachusetts corporate tax burden is simply uncompetitive.  Massachusetts’ corporate tax burden is the 9th highest in the nation (Council on State Taxation, U.S. Census Bureau), and the Massachusetts corporate tax rate of 9.5% is the 4th highest rate in the U.S (The Tax Foundation). 

Over the past five years, Massachusetts corporate income taxes have been raised by $400 million, and Massachusetts unemployment insurance taxes have been raised by $600 million – totaling a billion dollars in new taxes in recent years on Massachusetts employers.

These factors have lead to anemic job growth.  From 2003 to 2007 Massachusetts had the 48th worst rate of job creation in the country and remains more than 95,000 jobs below its previous peak. 

Furthermore, recent tax increases have fueled the perception that Massachusetts is an inhospitable place to do business – as evidenced by a 2008 Chief Executive Magazine survey in which CEO’s ranked Massachusetts as the 48th worst state for business.

As the economy teeters on the edge of recession and the state faces anemic job growth, it is essential that Massachusetts tax policy promotes rather than hinders employers’ ability to stay and grow in Massachusetts.”

On yesterday's edition of This Week in Business on NECN, Eric Rosengren, president & CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, gave his first in-depth television interview since taking over the Fed last year. 

In the first segment, Greater Boston Chamber CEO Paul Guzzi and his co-host Mike Nikitas of NECN talked with Rosengren about the economic picture and recent comments by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.



In the second segment, Rosengren discussed the housing crisis and the Fed's Mortgage Relief Fund.



For more information please visit www.MortgageReliefFund.com.

Mortgage Relief Fund Contact Information:

CITIZENS BANK 1-888-411-1145

SOVEREIGN BANK 1-800-288-6225

TD BANKNORTH 1-800-288-0025

WEBSTER (CT) 1-888-681-7788

WEBSTER(MA & RI) 1-800-635-9191

BANK OF AMERICA 1-800-344-9403

MA BANKERS ASSN 617-523-7595

In the Business Beat, Paul and Mike wrap up this week's show with a discussion of business costs, IPO's, and the new partnership between UMass and China.  


 

On last Sunday's edition of This Week in Business, hosts Paul Guzzi, president & CEO of the Greater Boston Chamber, and NECN Anchor Mike Nikitas were joined by Professor Karl Case, professor of economics at Wellesley College. Professor Case discussed the ups and downs in the housing market, the foreclosure crisis, the role of the Fed, and what he thinks can be expected in the coming months.

In the Briefing Room, Paul and Mike were joined by Jim Foster, President and CEO Charles River Labs, who discussed his company’s expansion in Massachusetts and abroad. He also explained why the shaky economy has been good for his company’s business.

This edition of This Week in Business  was also Steve Bailey’s final appearance on the Business Beat. Steve discussed 30 years of business reporting in Boston. He also talked about some of the highlights of his career.

Congressman Barney Frank's address to the Greater Boston Chamber's Financial Services Forum in March was covered in the New York Times by columnist Joe Nocera.

 

At the Chamber's Life Sciences Forum on Wednesday, Dr. Christoph Westphal , CEO of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals addressed the Chamber membership. He spoke about the future of anti-aging pharmaceuticals and Sirtris’ leading role in their development.

The Boston Herald noted Westphal's enthusiasm about working in the Greater Boston area, " Boston is a great place to launch a life sciences company, because there are many skilled scientists, venture capitalists, lawyers and accountants."

Photos of the event can be viewed here.

Every year since 1983, the Greater Boston Chamber has had the privilege of inducting some of our region’s most accomplished leaders into the Academy of Distinguished Bostonians.

Meet one of the 2008 honorees: Ted Cutler, philanthropist and vice president, The Interface Group - MA.

Ted is an internationally recognized innovator in the travel industry and a leader in Greater Boston’s civic and philanthropic communities, most notably in the fields of education, the arts, and health care.  He is the founder of GWV International travel company, an organization that helped revolutionize the charter travel and entertainment industries. Today, Cutler serves as vice president and a member of the Board of Directors of The Interface Group – Massachusetts.

Over the course of several decades, Cutler has become a force in the charitable and non-profit worlds of New England. His current endeavors include serving as co-chair of the campaign for the Greater Boston Food Bank and chair of the board of the Hebrew College. Cutler is a Trustee Emeritus of the Citi Center for the Performing Arts and past chairman of Emerson College and the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston.

In 1999, Cutler and his wife Joan made a lead gift toward the restoration of the Majestic Theatre at Emerson College, which reopened in 2003 as the Cutler Majestic Theatre. Cutler also led a campaign to fund new facilities for Emerson’s award winning, student-run radio station, WERS (88.9 FM). 

We hope you will be able to join the Greater Boston business community at the Chamber’s Annual Meeting & Dinner on May 14th as we induct Ted Cutler into the Academy of Distinguished Bostonians.

The Chamber's February 2008 Monthly Jobs Update, released today, shows that Massachusetts added 18,200 jobs over the past 12 months, for a job growth rate of 0.6%.

Other key findings include:

• 7 of 12 regions added jobs
• Greater Boston and Metro West regions grow fastest
• State remains 95,700 jobs below previous peak
• State transportation & utilities jobs down 0.5% last 12 months
• Merrimack valley region grows fastest

Compare this month against previous jobs reports here.

At the Chamber's Financial Services Forum this morning, Congressman Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, called for increased regulation of financial markets.

The Wall Street Journal noted the Chairman's offer to exchange greater oversight of "credit-creating institutions" for access to the Federal Reserve as a lender of last resort.

The Boston Globe noted Congressman Frank's "renewed" call for expanded regulation.

Bloomberg's Alison Vekshin noted the call for formation of a financial services risk regulator.

CNBC has been debating the proposal all day, and interviewed Congressman Frank here.

Reuters and the CBS News Politico also have the story.

View photos of the event here.

At tomorrow's Financial Services Forum, Congressman Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, will deliver a major economic policy address.

As the economy teeters on the edge of recession, Congressman Frank has become a key economic leader.  Given the market turmoil this week, the timing of his speech to the Chamber offers members a unique opportunity to attend yet another news-making event.

The Boston Herald's Jay Fitzgerald offers a brief preview here.

Click here to register for the event.