Supreme Judicial Court struck down an initiative petition known as the Fair Share Amendment

On Monday, the Supreme Judicial Court struck down an initiative petition known as the Fair Share Amendment which sought to amend art. 44 of the Massachusetts Constitution. The proposal was slated for this November’s election and would have allowed raising the tax on incomes above $1 million (the “Millionaire’s Tax”), with the new revenue to be dedicated for the purposes of education and transportation. Read Full Article

LGBT Rights in the June Collection Spotlight

For Pride Month, the Library is highlighting collection resources on the history of gay rights legislation and litigation as well as books with practice advice for attorneys representing gay clients in business, employment and family matters. Read Full Article

Fastcase – Search United States Primary Law from Your Office

Need primary law from a jurisdiction other than Massachusetts? Our Fastcase database has appellate-level decisions for all fifty states and federal district and appellate courts. Fastcase also has keyword-searchable versions of the United States Code and Code of Federal Regulations as well as many states’ statutes and regulations. Fastcase even annotates statutes by automatically linking to cases that have cited to them. Read Full Article

Year-Round Tax Guidance

Time is short: tax returns are due in a couple of weeks. But Social Law members with last-minute tax questions have access to a wealth of resources on federal, state and local taxation not only now, but all year long. This month we’re highlighting our vast collection of reporters, treatises, legislative histories, and more that can guide you in resolving tax issues for families, businesses and non-profit organizations. Read Full Article

Justices Reverse Tax Conviction for “Sloppy Bookkeeping”

On March 22 the United State Supreme Court decided that a Buffalo New York business owner, Carlo Marinello, should not have been convicted of obstruction of an Internal Revenue investigation, for failure to document some transactions and destruction of financial records. Read Full Article