PETITION OF:

SECTION 1. Subsection (c) of section 3 of chapter 63B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking said subsection and inserting in place thereof the following:—

(c) For purposes of this chapter, there shall be four required installments for each taxable year, except as otherwise provided by this chapter. The first installment shall be paid on or before the fifteenth day of the third month of the taxable year; the second installment shall be paid on or before the fifteenth day of the sixth month of the taxable year; the third installment shall be paid on or before the fifteenth day of the ninth month of the taxable year; and the fourth installment shall be paid on or before the fifteenth day of twelfth month of the calendar year. The amount of any installment shall be twenty-five per cent of the required annual payment.

The term “required annual payment” means the lesser of

(i) ninety percent of the tax shown on the return for the taxable year or, if no return is filed, ninety percent of the tax for such year, or

(ii) one hundred percent of the tax shown on the return of the corporation for the preceding taxable year, or

(iii) ninety percent of the tax for the taxable year or, if no return is filed, ninety percent of tax for such year determined by using the income apportionment percentage, if any, applicable for the preceding taxable year in computing its net income subject to tax under chapter sixty-three.

Clause (ii) shall not apply if the preceding taxable year was not a taxable year of twelve months or the corporation did not file a return for such preceding taxable year showing a liability for tax.

Clause (ii) shall not apply in the case of a large corporation, as defined in section sixty-six hundred and fifty-five (g) of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States, as amended on January first, nineteen hundred and eighty-nine and in effect for the taxable year except for purposes of determining the amount of the first required installment for any taxable year; provided, however that any reduction in such first installment by reason of this provision shall be recaptured by increasing the amount of the next required installment by the amount of such reduction.

SECTION 2. Section 4A of chapter 63B of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking the word “sixty-five” in line 4 and inserting in place thereof the following:—

fifty.

SECTION 3. Section 4A of chapter 63B of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking the word “ten” in line 9 and inserting in place thereof the following:—

twenty-five.

SECTION 4. Section 4A of chapter 63B of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking the word “ninety” in line 14 and inserting in place thereof the following:—

seventy-five.

SECTION 5. Section 4A of chapter 63B of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking the word “ten” in line 16 and inserting in place thereof the following:—

twenty-five.

SECTION 6. Section 4B of chapter 63B of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking said section and inserting in place thereof the following: —

Section 4B. A corporation that has less than ten employees and is in its first full taxable year of doing business shall not be subject to the schedules set forth in section four A. For the purposes of a corporation that has less than ten employees and is in its first full taxable year of doing business, the first required installment of estimated tax is paid after the fifteenth day of the third month of the taxable year and is required by section four to be paid on or before the fifteenth day of the sixth month of the taxable year, fifty percent of the estimated tax shall be paid; the second required installment shall be paid on or before the fifteenth day of the ninth month of the taxable year and shall be equal to twenty-five percent of the estimated tax; and the last installment shall be paid on or before the fifteenth day of the twelfth month of the taxable year and shall be equal to the remaining twenty-five percent of the estimated tax.

If the first required installment of estimated tax is paid after the fifteenth day of the sixth month of the taxable year and is required by section four to be paid on or before the fifteenth day of the ninth month of the taxable year, seventy-five percent of the estimated tax shall be paid; and the last installment shall be paid on or before the fifteenth day of the twelfth month of the taxable year and shall be equal to the remaining twenty-five percent of the estimated tax.

If the first required installment of estimated tax is paid after the fifteenth day of the ninth month of the taxable year and is required by section four to be paid on or before the fifteenth day of the twelfth month of the taxable year, the estimated tax shall be paid in full on or before the fifteenth day of the twelfth month of the taxable year.

Such corporations shall be subject to all other provisions of this chapter.