Bill would publish corporate tax reports in a searchable public database

Rep. Daniel M. Donahue filed legislation Jan. 17, 2025, that would require the Secretary of the Commonwealth to make publicly traded corporations’ annual tax reports available in a searchable online database and to publish a list of corporations required to file that did not do so. The bill, House No. 3083, would amend Section 83 of Chapter 62C of the Massachusetts General Laws to remove language that limited public access until the state secretary had expunged a taxpayer’s name and principal office address, and to require the secretary to post reports and related information in a searchable internet database. It also would add a requirement that the secretary publish a list of corporations that were required to file but failed to do so in the preceding year. Under the proposal, the secretary would set charges to cover the cost of providing copies of the full database on computer-readable media and would make hard copies of individual annual reports available. The bill also contains a timing provision: "No report for any corporation for a particular tax year shall be publicly available until the first day of the third calendar year that follows the calendar year in which the particular tax year ends." For example, a report for a tax year that ends in 2024 would not be publicly available until Jan. 1, 2027. The filing list for the bill names Rep. Daniel M. Donahue of the 16th Worcester District as the presenter; Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven of the 27th Middlesex District was added as a petitioner on Feb. 20, 2025. The bill text notes similar matter was filed in the previous legislative session (House No. 2725, 2023–2024). The legislation was submitted to the House Committee on Revenue for consideration; the filing itself does not enact any change in law. If the committee advances the measure, it would require passage by both houses of the Legislature and the governor’s signature before taking effect. The bill’s changes would principally affect publicly traded corporate taxpayers that file under Section 83 of Chapter 62C, journalists and researchers who use corporate tax data, and any members of the public seeking copies of corporate reports. The measure leaves unchanged the statutory timing condition for when reports become public and preserves the secretary’s ability to charge for copies of data and to provide data in machine-readable formats. Drafting notes in the bill text replace subsection (n) of Section 83 and modify the last sentence of subsection (a) and the end of subsection (m) to implement the searchable database and the failure-to-file list. The filing identifies the Secretary of the Commonwealth as the official responsible for publishing the database and setting charges for copies. Next steps for the bill include committee hearings, possible amendments, and floor votes in the House and Senate; no committee action or floor vote is recorded in the filing.