Massachusetts looks to reduce tax burden for SMBs

4/21/2011

The state of Massachusetts is looking to further stimulate small business growth by cutting back on the taxes they are required to pay, the Boston Globe reports.

On Tuesday, the Board of Selectmen and Board of Assessors held a meeting to determine a way the state could relieve small business owners of some of their tax burden. According to entrepreneurs, property taxes accounted for the bulk of the inconvenience because commercial buildings are valued using shift percentages.

This means that while 80 percent of the property is residential and 20 percent is commercial, business owners pay for 35 percent of total property taxes.

Small business entrepreneur Russell Stamm suggests the state finds a way to further split the commercial property category to make it fairer.

"Is there a way to get a split rate amongst commercial taxpayers?" Stamm asked the source. "Make a difference in what we define as commercial, like small businesses that have 25 or fewer employees."

According to a recent survey, SMBs spent billions of hours and dollars ensuring they were compliant with tax laws. Some even leveraged small business lending to hire third-party accountants to take care of the issue.