Mass. House expected to repeal ‘tech tax’ in Wednesday session

MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATORS ARE expected to repeal Gov. Deval L. Patrick's controversial
MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATORS ARE expected to repeal Gov. Deval L. Patrick's controversial "technology tax" in session Wednesday. State officials estimated the tax would generate $161 million in revenue for the state. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SPRINGER

BOSTON – Massachusetts state legislators are preparing to debate the repeal of the controversial technology tax, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.

The House is expected to approve the repeal when it meets in a formal session Wednesday. Gov. Deval L. Patrick, who announced earlier this month that he no longer supports the tax subjecting certain computer and software services to the state’s 6.25 percent sales tax, has pressed lawmakers to find an alternative source of revenue if the tax is eliminated.

House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo has said there will be no new tax proposal to compensate for the revenue lost by repealing the tech tax, which state officials estimated would total $161 million in the fiscal year that began July 1, the AP reported. Furthermore, DeLeo does not anticipate budget cuts as a result of the repeal.

Patrick himself proposed the tax in January to help pay for improvements to the state’s infrastructure, but reversed his position when the tax came under fire from Republican state legislators and local business leaders earlier this month.

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Local tech industry leaders complained that the tax was applied too broadly, and led some to consider moving to Rhode Island to escape the tax.

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