Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce unveils recommended corporate tax reforms

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce said Thursday that the Bay State’s corporate tax code needs reforming so that Massachusetts can close the competitiveness gap with other states.

The state, the chamber says, has the fifth highest corporate tax burden in the country. According to the chamber’s math, Massachusetts’ corporate tax burden is 0.54 percent as a percentage of private sector GDP --- 74 percent about the national average of 0.31 percent of GDP.

To close the competitiveness gap, the chamber proposes several recommendations such as phasing-out the balance sheet tax.

Paul Guzzi in a recent file photo. Globe photo by Bill Brett

In the chamber’s opinion, that amounts to a second corporate tax on inventories and financial assets that few comparable states utilize, and which must be paid even if a company is losing money or the economy is in a steep recession.

The chamber’s recommendations are included in a report titled, “Making the Massachusetts Tax Code More Competitive.”

In a statement, Paul Guzzi, the chamber’s president and chief executive, said: “Current policy makes Massachusetts’ corporate tax burden the 5th highest in the country. Our region has many attributes that boost our competitiveness, such as a rich talent base, strong leading industries, and effective government/business collaboration. However, we are lagging when it comes to business cost structure, notably the corporate tax system. With an economy still struggling to fully recover, we need to take action to close the competitiveness gap in this key area, and our four proposed reforms will help accomplish this goal.”