Sales Tax Modernization 2

SECTION 60.   The department of revenue shall record as revenue in fiscal year 2019 sales tax revenue collected by vendors and operators required to file a return under section 16 of chapter 62C of the General Laws on account of June 2019 sales but remitted to and received by the department in July 2019, in the amount that, under section 95 of chapter 47 of the acts of 2017, was recorded as revenue in fiscal year 2018 for sales tax revenue collected by vendors and operators required to file a return under said section 16 of said chapter 62C on account of June 2018 sales but remitted to and received by the department in July 2018. The department of revenue shall record as revenue in fiscal year 2020 sales tax revenue collected by vendors and operators required to file a return under said section 16 of said chapter 62C on account of June 2020 sales but remitted to and received by the department in July 2020, in the amount that, under said section 95 of said chapter 47 of the acts of 2017, was recorded as revenue in fiscal year 2018 for sales tax revenue collected by vendors and operators required to file a return under said section 16 of said chapter 62C on account of June 2018 sales but remitted to and received by the department in July 2018. Notwithstanding any general or special law, rule, regulation or accounts receivable policy to the contrary, the comptroller shall record in fiscal years 2019 and 2020 such revenue in the state accounting system and in the statutory basis financial report required by section 12 of chapter 7A of the General Laws.
 
 

Summary:
This section requires the Department of Revenue to treat sales tax revenue remitted in July as revenue for the previous fiscal year for fiscal years 2019 and 2020. A companion section requires the Commissioner of Revenue to promulgate regulations by May 31, 2021 so as to require third-party processors (predominantly credit card companies) to remit to the Commonwealth, on a daily basis, the portion of a sale that is attributable to sales tax. There would be no change to the current schedule for reporting and remitting the sales tax for cash sales.