Pappas Statement Following Solicitor General’s Recommendation Against SCOTUS Hearing MA/NH Income Tax Case

Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) released the following statement after reports that the Acting Solicitor General recommended the Supreme Court of the United States not hear a case filed by the State of New Hampshire to stop Massachusetts from collecting a state income tax on Granite Staters working remotely in Massachusetts because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This is deeply disappointing news for hard-working Granite Staters who have followed the rules and did what was right by working from home to keep their friends, families, and communities safe during the pandemic," said Congressman Pappas. "This development further underscores the need for a permanent, legislative fix to protect teleworking Granite Staters - and workers across the country - from being forced to pay an unfair income tax. The legislation I helped introduce in the House would do just that, and I will continue to work to build bipartisan support around this issue so that we can get tax relief to our workers as quickly as possible."

Following the start of the pandemic, in a break from clearly established precedent, the Massachusetts state government (and other neighboring states) began forcing Granite Staters who are employed by Massachusetts companies to pay Massachusetts state income tax on money earned from telework in New Hampshire.

Congressman Pappas has been a leader in Congress to push back against this, including helping introduce bipartisan legislation, the Multi-State Worker Tax Fairness Act which would protect New Hampshire residents from unfair taxation by clarifying that workers are only required to pay income tax to the state where they were physically present when the income was earned. Specifically, for teleworking Granite Staters employed by companies based in other states, the bill would eliminate the need to pay any state income tax whatsoever.