Doing business in Massachusetts requires a foreign corporation to have a physical presence or a link with the state in order to be required to collect state sales tax from residents. This article provides an overview of the rules and regulations for foreign qualification in Massachusetts, as well as guidelines on what constitutes doing business in Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Under Massachusetts law, a foreign corporation must provide a certificate to the Secretary of State for presentation if it conducts business transactions or has a habitual place of business in the commonwealth. If your company is organized as a corporation rather than an LLC, the rules and requirements for foreign qualification are similar.
CT Corporation has prepared a comprehensive resource to help answer the question of what constitutes doing business within the meaning of qualification requirements. It includes articles, legal provisions and cases related to the need for qualification by corporations doing business in foreign states. What Constitutes Doing Business also provides guidelines on what constitutes doing business in Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. It's good business practice to weigh these issues before moving your company out of state.
Many state LLC laws provide a list of exempt activities (in other words, activities that do not constitute doing business in the state). Enable tax and accounting professionals and businesses of all sizes to drive productivity, manage change, and achieve better results. Enable organizations to ensure compliance with ever-changing regulatory obligations, managing risk, increasing efficiency and producing better business results. If you would like to discuss becoming a client, contact one of our lawyers to set up a meeting or conference call. If you want to disclose confidential information to a lawyer at the firm before an attorney-client relationship is established, the protections that the law firm will provide to such information of a prospective client should be analyzed before submitting such information.
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