A little bit of everything
With a report Monday by CEO magazine ranking Maryland among the 10 worst states to do business, the Greater Baltimore Committee said it’s going to renew its push to improve the state’s competitiveness. “I’m always struggling with why we think we’re so good and others think we’re not,” said Brian Rogers, chairman of the T. Rowe Price Group who chairs the Greater Baltimore Committee’s board.
Read moreNot only have over 12 million homeowners faced losing their homes to foreclosure or selling underwater homes, commonly due to
Read moreMaryland’s 8.25% corporate income tax will be lowered next year, at least by the Maryland Senate, predicted Sen. Ed Kasemeyer, chair of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. “I do believe that next year you’ll see it occur,” Kasemeyer told a Howard County Chamber of Commerce breakfast Thursday. The Howard County Democrat had backed lowering the rate at a meeting of the same group in 2011.
Read moreVoters next year will be asked to approve a constitutional amendment creating a “lockbox” to prevent raids on the Transportation Trust Fund for other purposes, but Republican opponents said the measure was a sham that would provide little protection. The measure provides that money can only be taken out of the Transportation Trust Fund after a three-fifths vote of both houses of the Maryland General Assembly once the governor has declared a state of “fiscal emergency.”
Read moreAn attempt to delay implementation of stormwater clean-up fees that will cost Maryland property owners millions come July failed in the legislature’s final day. The delay died after it was attached to a bill exempting nonprofits and government agencies from the fees called “the rain tax” by critics.
Read moreAn emergency bill expanding existing tax credits for film and TV production from $7.5 million to $25 million passed in the House of Delegates Tuesday, 108 votes to 31. The bill, SB183, which passed passed the Senate unanimously and now heads to the governor’s desk, sparked debate on the House floor as several Republican delegates expressed staunch opposition to the initiative.
Read moreJust 25 days after it was introduced, the Maryland Senate enacted the first gas tax hike in 21 years, sending the governor a 10 to 12 cent per gallon increase by 2015. The bill calls for the tax to go even higher — it will rise automatically in future years.
Read moreA controversial gas tax hike already passed by the House of Delegates was approved by a Senate committee Thursday, moving it one step closer to becoming law. The committee also approved a constitutional amendment requiring three-fifths votes in both houses to use transportation money for other purposes, a so-called lockbox.
Read moreProgressive Maryland released a report highlighting gaps in Maryland’s tax policy that prevent the state from bringing in almost $60 million in annual tax revenue from corporate sectors.
The report identifies seven sectors of Maryland’s tax policy that allow big businesses to take advantage of the state tax code. Business groups dispute the findings.
Read moreThe intensely debated gas tax hike electrified the house floor on Friday moving many delegates to speak who “hadn’t planned on standing up.” The two hour debate, culminated in a hotly disputed vote, ultimately passing 76 votes to 63.
HB 1515 raises Maryland’s gas tax by at least 10 cents per gallon or more over the next two years, indexing it to inflation, with aims to fund mass transit projects and highway improvements.
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