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RAM Launches Advertising Campaign on Addressing High Costs In Massachusetts
It has been well documented that the high cost of living, and the high cost of doing business in the Commonwealth is hurting our economy and competitiveness. National census numbers have been clear that we are annually losing population to other lower cost states, and the additional dark storefronts of small stores and restaurants have continued six years past COVID.
It is imperative that our elected officials now look in the mirror and lower the costs of certain counterproductive state public policies which are hurting the disposable incomes of our working families, and therefore lowering sales on Main Streets. And those very same small businesses seeing lower customer sales are also injured in their costs of operations by the very same mandated costs affecting our consumers. Click here to keep reading this article.
RAM IN THE NEWS:
Boston Globe Op-Eds:
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Small Businesses are drowning in hidden energy costs
2025 RAMAE Winners
Jon Hurst, RAM President & CEO (far left) with Alan Gibeley, Giblees -- Retail Hall of Fame; Brian and Monila Junkins, Friends' Marketplace -- Retail of the Year; Alexis Cervasio -- EBO & Co. Grocery, Creative Concepts in Retailing; Nia Grace Hyman, Grace by Nia -- Innovator of the Year; Michael Kasseris, Jason Kleinerman and Karim El-Gamal, Rail Trail Flatbread Co. -- Restaurant of the Year.
Click here to watch a short video about each of our 2025 winners.
Jon Hurst, RAM President & CEO, discussed Healthcare Costs with Sarah Iselin, President & CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts at the RAM Annual Meeting Awards Luncheon.
Click image above to read blog on healthcare costs.
RAMHIC Offerings for 2026
RAMHIC continues to partner with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts to offer members access to the carrier's entire portfolio of high quality, small group health insurance plans.
All members purchasing their health insurance coverage through the cooperative will also receive an expanded list of ancillary benefits, FREE of charge.
Click image above to view a BCBS produced informational video on the power of the RAM/BCBS Cooperative.
Please see our brochure for more detail on the expanded benefit package. Specific information regarding each benefit may be found below:
For more information please visit the RAMHIC page of our website.
MA DOR Issues Emergency Regulation: Waiver of Penalties Due to Non-compliance with Advanced Payment of Sales Tax
As directed by Section 176 of Chapter 73 of the Acts of 2025, the MA Department of Revenue (DOR) has issued an emergency regulation outlining the process by which a taxpayer, facing an undue financial hardship, can apply for a waiver or abatement of penalties related to non-compliance with the advanced payment of sales tax requirements. The emergency regulation is here:
830 CMR 62C.16B.1: Advance Payments of Sales and Use Tax and Room Occupancy Excise (EMERGENCY REGULATION)
Members who have outstanding advance payment penalties are strongly encouraged to review the regulation to determine if it applies to your situation. Applicable tax types include sales and use tax, marijuana retail taxes, room occupancy excise, and local option sales tax on meals, due during the period between April 1, 2021 and March 1, 2026.
The regulation sets a criteria by which an “undue financial hardship” can be determined, and explains the process to apply through MassTaxConnect. The deadline to apply is by March 1, 2026.
MassDEP Explores Lowering Organics/Food Waste Ban Threshold to Zero
The MA Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) is exploring the possibility of implementing a total statewide organics waste ban. The ban is being discussed in two potential phases, with the first phase beginning on or after November 1, 2028, and impacting all businesses and commercial entities regardless of size. Phase two would potentially take effect two years later and would apply to all residential food waste as well.
MassDEP first implemented a ban on the disposal of commercial organic waste in 2014, impacting businesses and institutions that generated one ton or more of organic waste per week. That threshold was lowered to a half ton or more on November 1, 2022. Currently, any entity that meets the threshold must donate or re-purpose the useable food, or dispose of via anaerobic digestion (AD), composting or as animal feed.
Information on the existing organics waste ban, including compliance assistance, is available here. The elimination of the threshold is still in the early stages of discussion before the Organics Subcommittee of the MassDEP Solid Waste Advisory Committee. A presentation of the proposed approach to eliminating the threshold is available here. RAM will continue to monitor and participate in the DEP SWAC and Subcommittee process as the discussion proceeds.
UPDATE: IRS issues extension of PFML tax ruling
Please be advised that the MA Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) will delay its implementation of certain portions of the tax withholding and reporting requirements outlined in IRS Revenue Ruling 2025-4 due to new guidance issued by the IRS. On December 19, 2025, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued IRS Notice 2026-6 which extends the implementation transition period provided to state paid family and medical leave programs and employers for an additional year.
Learn more about how this impacts employers in Massachusetts
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