Excise

From: W. F. CoyleSimpsonsvilleAn open letter to the Howard County delegation:Please supportthe proposed legislation for an excise tax (impact fee) that is badly needed in Howard County.With uncontrolled growth and the world economic conditions forcing needs for additional revenues, its coverage should be expanded.It would make the proposal more realistic to include schools, public safety, etc., not just roads. . . .Additionally, please change or delete the portion of the proposal callingfor matching funds at a 2-1 ratio from the county.

When the opponents of an increase in Maryland's alcohol tax got an opportunity to make their case before the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee last week, their message was clear: Anything that increases the price of beer, wine and liquor will cause consumers to buy less of it, and that will cost the state jobs. But what was curious about their argument was that they admitted that if the tax increase were enacted, they would effectively exacerbate the impact by increasing the final retail price by much more than the extra tax they pay. Here's why: The proposed tax increase, advertised by advocates as a dime a drink, works out to about $2.41 for a case of beer, about 50 cents for a bottle of wine (though, curiously, the industry reports this as $1.01 in its advocacy materials, as if people typically bought magnums)

Peter A. Sola's garage didn't bring any more traffic into the county or make room for more schoolchildren. So why, he asked county officials, does he have to pay $346 in excise tax to improve county roads?Their answer: because a county law says so.But if a pending decision by the county Board of Appeals isn't challenged in court by county lawyers, Mr. Sola will get his money back.The two-car garage was built on Mr. Sola's one-acre lot, which is sandwiched between the Longfellow and Beaverbrook neighborhoods near Route 108.Mr.

Wait 'til next year. That's the theme of this year's General Assembly session when it comes to contentious possible solutions to the fiscal mess Maryland - like all other states - finds itself in. The theme bothers Republicans. They worry that higher taxes might be pushed through Annapolis next year by a Democratic majority fretful about making such moves before November's elections. "They are trying to use smoke and mirrors and Band-Aids to get through this year," said Senate Minority Leader Allan H. Kittleman, a Howard County Republican.

Would-be travelers received a New Year's bonus yesterday when several more airlines stopped collecting a federal excise tax, slashing the cost of domestic air tickets by 10 percent at a time when some prices were already lower because of a winter fare war.But travel industry officials urged people to move quickly to take advantage of the savings, since Congress is expected to reinstate the tax, which expired on New Year's Eve. The tax, along with a $6...

Shane Pendergrass is seeking to save a school addition, change state law and make sure that Howard County's new growth ordinance is being enforced.Ms. Pendergrass, the County Council chairwoman, isn't happy that the school board has announced it will put off a $1.6 million addition to the Bollman Bridge Elementary School in her district. She also isn't happy with a state law that prevents the county from sharing excise tax revenues with the school board to help pay for new school construction.

The Howard County Council voted unanimously last night to make developers pay an excise tax on all residential and commercial construction and to require builders to pass both a schools test and a roads test before starting their projects.The so-called adequate facilities legislation will take effect in 60 days. Councilwoman Shane Pendergrass, D-1st, had sought to make the bill take effect immediately, but was outvoted, 4-1.The five-bill, five-resolution legislative package has three main features:* A roads test to determine if intersections can accommodate traffic generated by a proposed development;* A schools test to determine if nearby schools will be overcrowded when new residents move into a proposeddevelopment;* An excise tax imposed on all new residential and commercial construction.

HARFORD COUNTY legislators are considering a proposal by their county executive, Eileen M. Rehrmann, to create an excise tax on construction that would help pay for road improvements. Ms. Rehrmann hopes the version is more palatable than one her county's General Assembly delegation shot down a few years ago. A similar tax in Howard County is the model for it, she says.That being the case, Harford legislators may want to take a look across the Patapsco River. They would see that Howard's program is not responding the way Howard's executive promised his delegation a few years ago.The Howard excise tax was born of a committee that Howard County Executive Charles I. Ecker formed in 1991.

Reacting to public concern about crowded schools and congested roads, a Howard County commission unveiled legislation yesterday requiring new development to pay an excise tax for road improvements and to meet standards on road and school capacity.It took the 12 commissioners -- representing developers, civic associations, the PTA Council and county government -- a year to agree on the legislative package, which must be approved by the state General Assembly and the Howard County Council."I am 100 percent behind it," said County Executive Charles I. Ecker, who appointed the commission to draft new adequate public facilities proposals after the former administration's recommendations failed to get the previous council's approval.

The county's General Assembly delegation last week tentatively agreed to sponsor legislation that would allow the county to collect excise taxes from developers and use the money to build or improve major roads.The tax is tied to a complex adequate facilities plan that County Executive Charles I. Ecker intends to bring before the County Council in January.The tax, which Ecker expects will bring in $6 million annually, would be put into a "development road improvement fund."It would be withdrawn only if the county matches it at a rate of 2 to 1. Use ofthe money would be restricted to major capital projects.

M aryland collects a measly $15 million a year in excise taxes on distilled spirits. Whiskey drinker Thomas Meighan Jr. might have costthe state that much all by himself in court, police and jail costs and general mayhem. Meighan had at least nine drunken-driving convictions as well as convictions for battery, disorderly conduct and theft before being charged with traffic offenses and manslaughter in the hit-and-run death of a Johns Hopkins University student last fall, The Baltimore Sun reported.

Your recent editorial "It's Miller Time?" (Dec. 18) severely misrepresented the impact that raising the tax on beverage alcohol will have on the state of Maryland and its hospitality industry. As a Maryland resident and employee of Diageo, which employs more than 300 Maryland residents at our local bottling plant in Relay, I'm concerned that you are downplaying the potential damage of this tax. It's the hardworking citizens - like those who work on our bottling line - who will bear the brunt of this tax. Raising taxes on consumer products always means job losses.

Alcohol tax would hurt business, not help budget Your recent editorial "It's Miller Time?" (Dec. 18) severely misrepresented the impact that raising the tax on beverage alcohol will have on the state of Maryland and its hospitality industry. As a Maryland resident and employee of Diageo, which employs more than 300 Maryland residents at our local bottling plant in Relay, I'm concerned that you are downplaying the potential damage of this tax. It's the hardworking citizens - like those who work on our bottling line - who will bear the brunt of this tax. Raising taxes on consumer products always means job losses.

Mark Lecates took advantage of the "cash for clunkers" program about 10 days ago, getting $4,500 off the price of a new Honda Civic for scrapping his nearly 10-year-old Ford Explorer. He has no complaints, but he does have a question about Maryland taxes in the transaction. The Baltimore resident paid state taxes on the full cost of the vehicle - before $4,500 was knocked off the price. His tax bill on the sale totaled around $1,025. By paying taxes on the clunker incentive, Lecates figures he paid an extra $270.

A bill under consideration by the General Assembly would add a 5-cent tax to the purchase of alcoholic beverages ("The enablers in Annapolis," editorial, March 19). It would be easy to argue that this increase only amounts to pennies per drink or to point out that Maryland has the lowest excise tax on distilled spirits in the nation. You could even contend that this tax hike is long overdue - the last time Maryland raised its alcohol tax was 54 years ago during the Eisenhower administration.

I was miles and miles away, in a vineyard in Napa Valley, when I first learned just how powerful the liquor lobby is back home in Maryland. A friend and I were driving the wine country's rolling roads, stopping here and there to sample the fruits of the various vintners' labors. The usual sniffing and sipping were quickly followed by the selling: You won't find us at your neighborhood liquor store, but we have a Web site, we can ship directly to you, where are you from? I soon learned to say another state, since Maryland was well-known to the small winemakers there as one of the 15 or so states that ban direct-to-consumer sales.

After a year of weekly sessions, a group of people ranging from pro-growth developers to slow-growth advocates in Howard County has drafted legislation that seeks to limit development to areas equipped to handle it.The county's adequate public facilities ordinance was proposed at a news conference yesterday in the County Council's chambers and was embraced by County Executive Charles I. Ecker.It will be introduced in the council during the body's January legislative session, officials said.

A BILL proposed by Del. Elizabeth Bobo that could divert money from road construction to school construction has not been embraced by other members of the Howard County legislative delegation, but it merits consideration.The Bobo bill would amend 1992 legislation that placed an excise tax on certain county construction projects and set aside the revenue for road improvements.Ms. Bobo believes a portion of the excise tax revenue ought to be available for school construction, which also is often needed to accommodate development.

Banking executive Edward J. "Ned" Kelly III earned nearly $15 million last year in salary, bonus and other payments after PNC Financial Services Group acquired Baltimore's Mercantile Bankshares Corp., according to documents filed yesterday. Kelly, Mercantile's former chief executive, had taken a vice chairman role at PNC after the deal was completed a year ago, but he quit in late June to join the Carlyle Group. He's now an executive at Citigroup Inc., of New York. Kelly declined to comment yesterday, through a spokeswoman.