Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tax Checkoff International Aid topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Witness supports tax checkoff to aid least developed countries fund
Summary
A testifier told the Joint Committee on Revenue that H 3037 would add a tax return checkoff enabling Massachusetts taxpayers to donate to the Least Developed Countries Fund, with administration by the World Bank and eligibility vetted by Oxfam; the witness said the bill has been repeatedly filed and refined by counsel.
A testifier speaking in support of H 3037 described the bill as a modification to the state income tax "checkoff" system that would permit taxpayers to contribute to a Least Developed Countries Fund intended to address environmental challenges in 17 countries identified as least developed.
The witness said the fund is administered through Oxfam criteria and held at the World Bank, and that the checkoff mechanism has existed for years but required statutory clarification and sunset provisions. He described the bill as the fifth iteration of previous filings and said Senate counsel assisted in rewriting the checkoff process to include updated administration provisions.
"This bill has been... the fifth go around for this bill," the testifier said, adding that earlier versions were simpler and that the current draft contains additional procedural detail to govern how the checkoff operates and how funds are administered.
The witness said the program has been "relatively successful" in prior administrations but acknowledged it is bureaucratically heavy. No quantitative estimates of expected revenue from the checkoff or a fiscal impact statement were provided during the hearing.
No committee votes or directions on H 3037 were recorded during the hearing.
