Dear Legislator:
On behalf of the NationalTaxpayers Union’s (NTU) 7,100 members in Maryland, I urge you to vote againstSenate Bill 523. NTU staunchly opposes any effort to raise taxes onoverburdened Maryland residents. In 2008, Maryland passed the largest taxincrease in state history. Now, a scant four years later, Old Line Statetaxpayers are facing yet another devastating tax increase proposal becausetheir legislators are unable or unwilling to restrain expenditures.
In its attempt to raise morethan half a billion dollars in additional taxes, this legislation would swipemore money from virtually every Marylander’s pocket. The largest share of thetax hikes comes in the form of heavier income taxes across virtually allbrackets. This would reduce the size of every worker’s paycheck, compoundingthe financial difficulties many are facing during this uncertain and uneveneconomic recovery.
In addition to its misguidedapproach toward income taxes, SB 523 would impose an “affiliate nexus” taxscheme to force out-of-state online retailers to collect sales taxes based on tenuousconnections with in-state advertisers. These plans have failed in every statewhere they’ve been enacted because retailers are forced to sever theirconnections rather than face the onerous task of complying with a tax code in astate where they have no physical presence. Maryland wisely rejected such plansin 2009 and 2010 and should do the same this year.
Finally, this legislationattempts to enact harsh and regressive tax increases on tobacco products. Itwould make Maryland’s tax on cigars among the highest in the entire nation,once again resorting to punitive policy toward a politically convenient target.Smokers already stream across the borders to lower-tax Virginia, Pennsylvania,and Delaware to purchase their products and this bill would only exacerbatethat problem.
Instead of once again raisingtaxes, Maryland’s elected officials should begin the long-overdue work ofreducing spending to levels the people can afford. The state already has thefifth-highest per-capita state and local tax burden in the country and a businesstax climate that ranks a dismal 42nd out of 50. This cries out for reformingthe state’s spending habits, not for saddling its taxpayers with ever-heavierfinancial demands from government. That process must begin byrejecting SB 523.
Sincerely,
Brent Mead State Government Affairs Manager