Mass. Panel Delays Digital Ad Tax Bill to Future Hearing

A Massachusetts legislative committee's sudden delay of testimony on a possible digital ad tax caused some confusion Monday. The Joint Revenue Committee was originally scheduled to consider H-3081 at a virtual hearing that day. Bill sponsor Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven (D) testified on the bill, but House Chair Mark Cusick (D) then told her it wasn’t on the agenda. The tax bill “was removed from the agenda for today's hearing by mutual agreement of the Chairs ... because the Committee has other bills like this bill and have decided to hear them together at a future hearing,” Cusick’s Chief of Staff Ryan Sterling emailed us. Senate Chair Adam Hinds' (D) Chief of Staff Steve Maher told us “the bill was added by mistake to today's hearing and was removed once the error was noticed.” Chairs typically agree on a set of bills to be heard, and since H-3081 wasn't discussed "it was removed to be heard at a later date,” he emailed.