TAXPAYERS LOSE IN SPECIAL SESSION

  by Doug Stiegler  Wednesday, November 21, 2007

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Using words like “fair”, long term solution”, “path to progress” and “have to “sacrifice more” to “invest more”, Governor O’Malley smiled as he signed the $1.4 billion tax hike on Maryland residents.  Listed below are the most of the tax increases passed by 2:00 AM Monday morning. (Some we still don’t know about)

 

    • 120% increase in motor vehicle title registration fee

    • 100% increase in cigarette tax

    • 20% increase in sales tax (5 cents to 6 cents)

    • Expansion of sales tax to computer services (estimated to raise $200 million per year)

    • 20% increase in car titling tax (limited relief granted by trade-in allowance)

    • 20% tax on net proceeds for electronic bingo and tip jar amusements (an entirely new tax)

    • 18% increase in corporate income tax rate

    • Increases in personal income tax rates for wage earners under graduated tax brackets (highest wage earners face 16% increase)

    • New transfer tax on real estate transfers of “controlling interests”

Knowing the Purpose of the Special Session was to raise taxes to cover a supposed deficit of $1.7 Billion the Governor and the Democrat party leader, without a budget, convinced legislators to authorize over $1.7 billion in NEW SPENDING over the next four years!

 

Your guess is probably as close as you are going to get as to what other “promises” were made to lawmakers to get their vote for the above taxes and the below listed NEW EXPENDITURES.

 

Have you ever heard the term “Tax and Spend”?  Here you have it!

 

“GCEI” from Thornton:

$592 million

Health Care Expansion Program:

$580 million  (GF) (anticipated cost in FY 2012 is $800 million with over 50% of cost underwritten by federal funds)

Chesapeake Bay Fund: 

$210 million

Higher Education Investment Fund:

$245 million

Helicopter Replacement Fund: 

$110 million

Prince George’s County Hospital: 

$ 50 million

 

Tying all of this together, as you know, is the SLOTS package.  This will be a Constitutional Amendment to enshrine the location and the future growth of slots and probably casinos in Maryland for a long time, if not forever.  It’s hard to change the Constitution.

 

There is still hope.  The people of the state, once some of the internal facts about the slots proposal come out, could reject the Constitutional Amendment and hopefully force the legislature into a more realistic approach to the budget.

 

Stay tuned as the plans for defeating the slots proposal unfold in the coming months.  I also anticipate some real battles in the General Assembly when the Governor unveils his 2008 budget.  I suspect some of the “promises” made will be left on the cutting room floor.

 

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