State Taxes

While increased tax rates may not be sending Maryland citizens elsewhere, as letter writer Neil L. Bergsman recently noted ("Tax rates don't send people out of state," Dec. 30), mainly because of natural inertia not to change location, the tax schedule does not invite people from out of state to decide to become Maryland residents. More importantly to the future economy of Maryland, the ever-increasing tax burdens present no incentive for industry or organizations to relocate here. Certainly, additional revenues are always needed, but at the same time attention must be paid to the long-term consequences and the impact on the future of Maryland's economy.

Your recent editorial on stormwater fees made me burst out laughing with tears streaming from my eyes - hopefully, liquid that will not one day to be considered taxable run-off ("The rain tax sham," April 18). You opine that "we think it's far more sensible to expect polluters to clean up after themselves - and in this case, that means all of us. " In response to that statement, I couldn't help but think of the Sunday morning televangelist shouting at us "repent, you nasty polluters, repent!"

It is not surprising that the people who paid for the notorious billboard over the Carroll County line in Pennsylvania -- the one that said "Welcome to Maryland, State of Taxes, Just Ahead" -- have never stepped forward. They are probably afraid they might be cited for violating the truth-in-advertising law.Although Maryland withholding taxes take a big chunk out of our paychecks, and the state sales tax adds 5 percent to most of our purchases, we don't live in a state with high taxes.Actually, 22 states have tax burdens a lot heavier than ours.

Regarding your article about the $5,600 Maryland spent on security for Gov. Martin O'Malley's visit to the Super Bowl , why couldn't Mr. O'Malley have stayed at the governor's mansion with his two tax buddies, House Speaker Michael Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, and watched the game there? Staying home would have saved Maryland taxpayers a lot of money. Messrs. O'Malley, Busch and Miller have passed so many new taxes on Marylanders that where we live is now known as "The State that Taxes Anything that Moves.

You don't have to own a Swiss bank account to evade taxes. Maybe you purposely underreport your income to the IRS or have gone along for years without filing a tax return. Or, you made a mistake significantly in your favor on the return and never fixed it. Whatever the case, it's not too late to make it right with the IRS. Uncle Sam prefers that you voluntarily come forward and pay what's due rather than having to track you down or, in serious cases, prosecute you. And while you're at it, you might need to make good on state taxes.

IN 1984, the soon-to-be amazingly profitable Toys `R' Us Inc. set up a Delaware-based subsidiary called Geoffrey Inc., named after a cartoon giraffe. Geoffrey became the owner of the Toys `R' Us name and several other trademarks. There was no logical reason to legally separate the Toys `R' Us name from the Toys `R' Us stores, which engage in the same business and are owned by the same people. But there were tax reasons, which often have little to do with logic. After creating Geoffrey, Toys `R' Us was able to spirit profits earned in Maryland and dozens of other states into Delaware, a Cayman Islands-style tax haven near Philadelphia, where they were largely bulletproof against William Donald Schaefer and other state taxmasters.

The president and former chief financial officer of a Bethesda-based lumber distribution company have pleaded guilty to criminal charges involving the theft of more than $372,000 in sales and withholding taxes from the state of Maryland, the attorney general's office said yesterday.Bruce Gordon, president of Structural Systems Inc., admitted guilt Monday in not turning over collected tax revenues to the state. Although the violation is a misdemeanor, the maximum penalty is five years' imprisonment and a $5,000 fine, said Norman L. Smith, the assistant attorney general who prosecuted the case.

ANNAPOLIS -- An ad hoc group of legislative leaders has decided that the state should raise $450 million in new taxes next year. But they haven't decided exactly who should pay the tab.The delegates and senators, who have been meeting off and on for more than two months, agreed the General Assembly should raise the new taxes and cut $700 million in spending to get the state's fiscal year 1993 budget in balance.They want to earmark $50 million of the new taxes for the state's poorest jurisdictions, Baltimore most prominent among them.

Maryland's much-maligned tax structure -- criticized for unfairly burdening the poor -- actually does a better job than most states in sparing the poor. It does so, however, by hitting the middle class harder than the rich, according to a new study.And, while the state's tax structure has grown more "progressive" over the last six years, the plight of the middle class at tax time has worsened.The study, released yesterday by the Washington-based Citizens for Tax Justice, looked at the relationship between taxes and income in 50 states and District of Columbia.

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.

At some Baltimore-area tax preparation offices, deadline day was proving anticlimactic. The big rush had come not on Tax Day but in early February, said Vince Williams, manager of Liberty Tax on East Coldspring Lane. The deadline for both federal and Maryland income taxes is Monday. "It's been a weird tax season," Williams said Monday morning. "Everyone started late because of the fiscal cliff. " Because of the last-minute tax deal to avert the fiscal cliff, the Internal Revenue Service was delayed in releasing some tax forms.

Here's a quiz for all current and future college students and their families: Which of the following has risen in price the most sharply over the last several decades - tuition, health care, the consumer price index or textbooks? For the correct answer, please consult the back of your texts. Since 1978, the cost of college textbooks has risen 812 percent, according to the American Enterprise Institute. Few necessities can match that kind of price explosion. In 2011, the cost of college texts rose 8 percent, or more than four times the rate of inflation, according to U.S. Labor Department statistics.

In his recent State of the State speech, Gov. Martin O'Malley said, "Our story, Maryland's story, is the story of better choices and better results. " This is certainly the kind of high rhetorical flourish we have come to expect from state leaders during legislative session time in Annapolis. Mr. O'Malley's rosy rhetoric reminded me of another former governor who harbored presidential ambitions: Ronald Reagan, who once said, "Facts are stubborn things. " In assessing the economic health of our state, I'm inclined to focus on the facts.

A project to renovate a building in the Warfield Cultural and Commerce Center, in Sykesville, has been awarded $246,619 in state tax credits in Maryland's Sustainable Communities Tax Credit program. This week Gov. Martin O'Malley announced that five projects statewide, including Warfield, will receive the credits in a program that officials said would help create some 500 construction jobs. State officials said that in all, the five projects received a total of $6,992,341 in tax credits to leverage construction projects with a total cost of $31,836,476.

While increased tax rates may not be sending Maryland citizens elsewhere, as letter writer Neil L. Bergsman recently noted ("Tax rates don't send people out of state," Dec. 30), mainly because of natural inertia not to change location, the tax schedule does not invite people from out of state to decide to become Maryland residents. More importantly to the future economy of Maryland, the ever-increasing tax burdens present no incentive for industry or organizations to relocate here. Certainly, additional revenues are always needed, but at the same time attention must be paid to the long-term consequences and the impact on the future of Maryland's economy.

Under the Maryland Dream Act, students who want to attend our community colleges or public universities at the in-state tuition rate must have attended a Maryland high school for at least three years. They must prove that their families filed state income tax returns during that time, and they or their families must file returns each year that the student attends college. Because the Dream Act was written for illegal immigrants, you might be wondering how this can be. Since when do such people pay income taxes?

OCEAN CITY -- Maryland's largest business organization will call today for a 15 percent cut in the state and local personal income tax rate as a way of making Maryland more competitive for jobs.In welcoming remarks at the Maryland Chamber of Commerce's two-day legislative conference here, Chairman Wayne A. Mills is expected to urge the governor and General Assembly to adopt a 25 percent tax rate reduction as an eventual goal.But as a first step, Mr. Mills, vice president and general manager for Washington Gas Light's Maryland division, said the 1996 General Assembly should approve a 15 percent cut that would begin in 1997 and be phased in over three years.

Take tax exemption, summer workers urgedAttention, summer workers!If you expect to earn less than $6,400 a year, you can avoid having state taxes withheld from your paycheck. The interest-free loan to the state isn't worth the hassle of processing paperwork and issuing refund checks.That's the message Maryland Comptroller Louis L. Goldstein wants to send to students planning to hold jobs this summer.Every year, his office mails out about 176,000 tax refunds to summer workers who could have had slightly bigger paychecks.

When the General Assembly considered video lottery facility legislation in the special session of 2007, a defined area of Anne Arundel County was included as one of five designated sites. In fact, it was included as the site allocated the greatest number of slot machines. This meant it was the site that would generate the greatest revenue for the state education trust fund. Anne Arundel County was willing to accommodate the largest site and respond to the constitutional provision requiring compliance with local zoning laws.

This Wednesday's planned opening of the half-billion-dollar Maryland Live! Casino at Arundel Mills marks a red-letter day in Maryland gaming history. The scale of the enormous, 330,000-square-foot facility is stunning: It will eventually house 4,750 slot machines (far more than any other Maryland facility) in addition to restaurants and entertainment. No doubt the opening will be a particularly satisfying moment for developer David Cordish and others at the Cordish Cos.who overcame a considerable number of obstacles, not least a 2010 voter referendum.