(a) Required Employment Levels. A mutual fund service corporation meets the job growth requirement for a taxable year if it maintains an employment level equal to or greater than its jobs commitment level. A mutual fund service corporation's employment level for a taxable year is equal to the number of qualified employees in Massachusetts on the last day of the mutual fund service corporation's taxable year. If a mutual fund service corporation participates with other mutual fund service corporations in the filing of a combined return, the employment level for a taxable year for the combined group is equal to the total number of qualified employees of all combined group members in Massachusetts on the last day of the combined group's taxable year. A mutual fund service corporation's jobs commitment level is equal to the following amounts for the following taxable years:
1. For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1997 but before January 1, 1998; 105% of the base period employment level;
2. For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1998 but before January 1, 1999; 110% of the base period employment level;
3. For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1999 but before January 1, 2000; 115% of the base period employment level;
4. For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2000 but before January 1, 2001; 120% of the base period employment level;
5. For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2001 but before January 1, 2003; 125% of the base period employment level;
6. For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2003, all mutual fund service corporations are deemed to meet the job growth requirement and are required to apportion taxable net income from mutual fund sales to Massachusetts using the single factor apportionment percentage provided in 830 CMR 63.38.7(4)(a), above.
(b) Base Period Employment Level. The base period employment level of a mutual fund service corporation is the number of qualified employees of the mutual fund service corporation in Massachusetts as of January 1, 1996. In the case of a mutual fund service corporation participating in the filing of a combined return, the base period employment level shall be computed for the combined group as a whole, based upon the number of qualified employees in Massachusetts as of January 1, 1996 of all members of the combined group. A mutual fund service corporation must retain its payroll records documenting the number of its employees as of January 1, 1996 to assist the Commissioner in determining whether the mutual fund service corporation has met its required employment level for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 1997.
(c) Special Rule For New Mutual Fund Service Corporations. If a mutual fund service corporation was not engaged in business in Massachusetts on January 1, 1996, then its base period employment level shall be its average employment level for the first two years it is engaged in business in Massachusetts. Such mutual fund service corporation's jobs commitment level shall be its base period employment level increased by five percent for every taxable year after the year in which the base period employment level is established, until January 1, 2003. For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2003, all mutual fund service corporations are deemed to meet the job growth requirement and are required to apportion taxable net income from mutual fund sales to Massachusetts using the single factor apportionment percentage provided in 830 CMR 63.38.7(4)(a), above.
(d) Special Rule For Corporate Restructuring
1. When the acquisition of a business or line of business or other corporate restructuring results in an increase in the number of qualified employees of the mutual fund service corporation, the base period employment level to be applied in the taxable year during which such restructuring occurs, and in all subsequent taxable years, shall be increased by the base period employment level of the acquired business or line of business. If the acquired business or line of business is not a mutual fund service corporation, it shall determine its base period employment level as though it were a mutual fund service corporation. See 830 CMR 63.38.7(5)(b), above.
2. When the divestiture of a line of business or other corporate restructuring results in a decrease in the number of qualified employees of a mutual fund service corporation, the base period employment level to be applied in the taxable year during which such restructuring occurs, and in all subsequent taxable years, shall be decreased by the base period employment level of the divested line of business only if the mutual fund service corporation can demonstrate that the corporate restructure will not result in any reduction in the number of jobs in Massachusetts.
(e) Exception For Adverse Economic Conditions. A mutual fund service corporation that fails to meet the job growth requirement set forth in 830 CMR 63.38.7(5)(a), above, for any taxable year may nevertheless apportion its taxable net income derived from mutual fund sales using the single sales factor apportionment formula set forth in 830 CMR 63.38.7(4)(a), above, for that taxable year, if it can demonstrate to the Commissioner, in a manner prescribed by the Commissioner, that its failure to meet the required jobs commitment level for the taxable year was the direct result of adverse economic conditions.
1. Effect on one taxable year. If a mutual fund service corporation demonstrates adverse economic conditions for any one taxable year, the mutual fund service corporation may decrease its jobs commitment level for all subsequent taxable years beginning before January 1, 2002, by five percent of its base period employment level.
2. Effect on more than one taxable year. If a mutual fund service corporation demonstrates adverse economic conditions for more than one taxable year, the mutual fund service corporation may decrease its jobs commitment level for each taxable year affected by such conditions, and for all subsequent taxable years beginning before January 1, 2002. The amount of the decrease shall be five percent of the base period employment level multiplied by the number of taxable years during which adverse economic conditions are shown to exist. However, notwithstanding any such decrease, the jobs commitment level for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2002, and before January 1, 2004 shall not be less than the sum of the jobs commitment level for the most recent taxable year unaffected by adverse economic conditions and five percent of the base period employment level.
3. Adverse economic conditions defined. Adverse economic conditions shall exist with respect to any taxable year only where during any twelve month period ending during the taxable year either:
a. the Standard and Poor's 500 Stock Index decreases ten percent or more compared to its level at the beginning of the twelve month period;
b. the average daily trading volume on the New York Stock Exchange decreases fifteen percent or more compared to the average over the preceding twelve months; or
c. at any time during the taxable year, the total assets under management of the mutual funds served by the mutual fund service corporation decreases twelve and one-half percent or more compared to such total assets under management twelve months earlier.
(f) Combined Returns. When one or more mutual fund service corporations joins in the filing of a combined return, as provided by 830 CMR 63.32B.1, each mutual fund service corporation shall determine and apportion its taxable net income separately. However, for purposes of determining whether the job growth requirement and any adverse economic conditions apply, as provided above, such determinations are to be made based on a combined group basis, and not on a corporation by corporation basis. If the job growth requirement is met by the combined group, all of the mutual fund service corporations participating in the combined return will be eligible to apportion taxable net income from mutual fund sales to Massachusetts using the single factor apportionment percentage provided in 830 CMR 63.38.7(4)(a), above. If the job growth requirement is not met by the combined group, and the adverse economic conditions exception does not apply, none of the mutual fund service corporations participating in the combined return will be eligible to apportion taxable net income from mutual fund sales to Massachusetts using the single factor apportionment percentage provided in 830 CMR 63.38.7(4)(a), above. Instead, such corporations, as part of the combined group, must follow the rules under 830 CMR 63.38.7(4)(b), above.
(g) The following example illustrates the provisions of 830 CMR 63.38.7(5).
Example. Mutual Funds, Inc. is a calendar year taxpayer. It is the parent corporation of three subsidiary corporations, Global Securities, Investments USA, and Investments International, all of which participate in the filing of a Massachusetts combined return ("the MFI Group"). Because these corporations participate in the filing of a combined return, they compute their base period employment level on a combined group basis. The MFI Group has 1000 qualified employees on January 1, 1996. This number is the MFI Group's base period employment level. On December 31, 1997, the MFI Group has 1070 qualified employees. The MFI Group meets the job growth requirement for the 1997 taxable year because its employment level exceeds its jobs commitment level of 1050 (105% of 1000).
On June 30, 1998, Mutual Funds, Inc. sells Investments International, whose base period employment level is 100, to an unrelated mutual fund service corporation based in New York, which has no plans to layoff or relocate any employees and does not do so. The MFI Group adjusts its base period employment level due to this corporate restructure to 900. On December 31, 1998, the MFI Group has 1001 employees. The MFI Group meets the job growth requirement for the 1998 taxable year because its employment level exceeds its job commitment level of 990 (110% of 900).
On September 15, 1998, Standard and Poor's 500 Stock Index is 865.27. On September 15, 1999, Standard and Poor's 500 Stock Index is 626.65, a 27.57% decrease. An adverse economic condition exists with respect to the MFI Group for its 1999 taxable year because the decrease in the Index exceeds 10%. On December 31, 1999, the MFI Group has only 1010 qualified employees. The MFI Group fails to meet its jobs commitment level of 1035 for 1999 (115% of 900). The MFI Group may nevertheless use the single sales factor apportionment formula set forth in 830 CMR 63.38.7(4)(a) because it can demonstrate that its failure to meet its jobs commitment level was a direct result of an adverse economic condition that occurred that year.
On December 31, 2000, the MFI Group has 1047 qualified employees. Because the MFI Group demonstrated adverse economic conditions in its 1999 taxable year, it may reduce its jobs commitment level for the 2000 taxable year by five percent of its base period employment level. Thus the MFI Group's job commitment level for the 2000 taxable year is 1035 (115% of 900) and not 1080 (120% of 900), as would be the case in the absence of adverse economic conditions. The MFI Group meets the job growth requirement for the 2000 taxable year because its employment level exceeds its job commitment level.