Is Marcus online bank considered a Massachusetts bank for the MA State Tax return?
MA banks get a lower tax rate, my state tax form points this out but does not define it.
Marcus online bank without branches, you do all your business with them online, HOWEVER...
My 1099-INT is actually issued by "Goldman Sachs Bank USA", that's what it says in the top left. In the small print it says "Marcus by Goldman Sachs® is a brand of Goldman Sachs Bank USA, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., a New York State-chartered bank and a member of the Federal Reserve System and FDIC."
The commonwealth of MA publishes this list of all national and state banks doing business in the commonwealth here, and interestingly Goldman Sachs Bank USA is on the list: Link:
https://www.mass.gov/doc/april-29-2021-approved-banks-list/download
Note that most other online banks are NOT mentioned in the list, e.g., Discover online bank is not listed, so it is more curious that Goldman Sachs Bank USA is.
Goldman Sachs & Co has a physical office in Boston, but I assume they do many things there being Goldman Sachs and all, and it's probably not focused on Marcus.
I found some somewhat similar questions online, but none match my question exactly, some say they think even if the bank owns an ATM in the state, it counts as a MA Bank, for example, but that's not relevant to me.
I did some searching on the MA Gov website and found a seemingly internal document which has some relevant info:
While M.G.L. c. 62, § 3B(a)(6) neither mentions nor defines a Massachusetts bank, the Massachusetts bank requirement and its definition are imputed from M.G.L. c. 62, § 2(b)(1)(A). In particular, a Massachusetts bank for purposes of the deduction is a savings or cooperative bank, trust company or credit union incorporated in or chartered by the commonwealth, any national bank, federal savings and loan association, federal savings bank or federal credit union located in the commonwealth, any banking company or Morris Plan company subject to M.G.L. c. 172A, any savings or loan association or banking partnership under the supervision of the Massachusetts commissioner of banks.
Link: https://www.mass.gov/doc/1413-exemption-of-interest-on-savings-in-massachusetts-banks/download
The key parts that jump out to me are paraphrased "any bank located in MA" and also "any bank under the supervision of the MA commissioner of banks".
- Does Goldman Sachs the parent company having a physical presence in MA make it count as a bank located in MA?
- Is Goldman Sachs Bank USA considered under the supervision of the MA commissioner of banks? I'm unable to tell.
- The Office of the State Treasurer signed letter says Goldman Sachs Bank USA is doing lawful business in the commonwealth, does that make it count as an MA Bank? (https://www.mass.gov/doc/february-25-2021-approved-banks-list/download)
- Maybe some other things I'm not considering.
Any thoughts? Thanks a lot, I really appreciate any insights.
