The Somerville City Council passed a resolution last week expressing its support for bills put forward in the state House and Senate calling for equal stimulus funds for immigrant taxpayers.

By Jim Clark

A resolution was put forward at the latest meeting of the Somerville City Council offering its support of HD.5036 and SD.2916: An Act to provide equal stimulus checks to immigrant taxpayers.

Speaking in favor of the resolution and commenting on the introduction of the state level bills, Councilor At-Large Wilfred N. Mbah said, “We all know that in this crisis there are people who work and pay taxes and they do not qualify for unemployment benefits. So this will address just that. And thanks to our formidable State Rep. Christine Barber for filing this bill at the state level. In the House, Christine Barber filed the bill with Tricia Farley-Bouvier. And also at the Senate level we had Senator Jimmy Eldridge also presented this bill in the Senate. I really want to give a shout out to Christine Barber for taking such a profound initiative for putting this forward.

The bill put forward in the House reads as follows:

“Whereas, the deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to provide stimulus checks to immigrant taxpayers who were excluded from the stimulus provisions of the federal CARES Act, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. (a) When used in this section the following words or terms shall have the following meanings:—

“Commissioner”, the commissioner of revenue. “Eligible taxpayer”, a taxpayer who filed a Massachusetts income tax return for tax year 2019 using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (“ITIN”) and who is ineligible for the recovery rebate in section 2201 of the federal CARES act of 2020; provided that estate or trust shall not be considered an eligible taxpayer.

“Qualifying child”, an individual listed as a dependent by the taxpayer on Schedule D1 of the Massachusetts income tax return for tax year 2019 who is a child of the taxpayer or a descendant of such a child, or a brother, sister, stepbrother, or stepsister of the taxpayer or a descendant of any such relative, who lived in the same home as the taxpayer for more than half of tax year 2019, who has not provided over one-half of the individual’s own support for the calendar year in which the taxable year of the taxpayer begins, and who has not filed a joint return (other than only for a claim of refund) with the individual’s spouse under section 6013 for the taxable year beginning in the calendar year in which the taxable year of the taxpayer begins, and who had not attained the age of 17 years at the end of 2019.

(b) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, in the case of an eligible taxpayer, there shall be allowed as a refundable credit against the tax for tax year 2019 an amount equal to the sum of—

(1) $1,200 ($2,400 in the case of an eligible taxpayer filing a joint return), plus

(2) an amount equal to the product of $500 multiplied by the number of qualifying children.

(c) The amount of the credit allowed by this section shall be reduced (but not below zero) by 5 percent of so much of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income as exceeds—

(1) $150,000 in the case of a joint return,

(2) $112,500 in the case of a head of household, and

(3) $75,000 in the case of a taxpayer not described in paragraph (1) or (2).

(d) The commissioner shall disburse refunds payable under this section electronically to any account to which the payee authorized, on or after January 1, 2018, the delivery of a refund of income tax. In the case of an individual who, at the time of any determination made pursuant to subsections (b) and (c) has not filed a tax return for tax year 2019, the commissioner shall disburse refunds payable under this section by substituting ‘2018’ for ‘2019’ in the definitions of “eligible taxpayer” and “qualifying child” and in subsection (b). (e) For an eligible taxpayer to whom no electronic refund is disbursed pursuant to subsection (d), the commissioner shall notify such taxpayer by first class mail and provide information prominently listed on the website of the department of the availability of the refund provided for in this section together with instructions on the application process. (f) The commissioner shall promulgate regulations to effectuate the purposes of this section.”

The bill put forward in the Senate was functionally identical to the House bill.

The Somerville City Council voted unanimously to approve the resolution supporting these bills.