Tax Collections

ANNAPOLIS -- Maryland sales tax collections in March not only exceeded estimates, but also exceeded actual collections for the same month in each of the past two years, signaling that an economic recovery is under way, the state's chief tax collector said."

Comptroller Peter Franchot urged Thursday that the state bank about $229 million in unexpected money with which it closed out the books on its last budget year, contending that Maryland's economy remains "exceedingly fragile. " The comptroller, whose office released the final numbers for the budget year that ended June 30, recommended that the General Assembly add remaining fund balance to the state's Rainy Day Fund. The figures the comptroller released were in line with a report in The Sun Thursday that reported the state had ended fiscal 2012 with roughly $225 million more than had been expected.  The additional funds will give Gov. Martin O'Malley additional flexibility as his administration prepares next year's budget, which will go to the legislature next January.

Maryland's fiscal picture remains remarkably rosy as state revenues continue to significantly outpace projections made only three months ago, officials said yesterday.During the fiscal year that ends June 30, the state has taken in almost $90 million more than had been projected as recently as March.In all, thanks to Maryland's robust economy, state revenues are expected to be about $450 million higher than projected a year ago for the current fiscal year.Much of the newest revenue surge is because of higher-than-expected income tax collections -- much of it on capital gains, said a spokesman for state Comptroller Louis L. Goldstein.

Baltimore's property tax rate is high (that's one thing that everyone that owns a home or business in the city can agree on) so nothing makes the blood boil quite like news that someone has successfully avoided paying their fair share — except, perhaps, finding out it wasn't a case of avoidance so much as lax enforcement. That's what appears to have happened in the case of some of the city's priciest condos, as recently uncovered by reporter Jamie Smith Hopkins . Baltimore lost out on more than $10 million in property tax revenue over the last several years because some 200 luxury condos were assessed as if they were little more than holes in the ground.

IT MAY BE September, but June is busting out all over. The city has counted the taxes collected for the last month of the past fiscal year and discovered several records were broken. Property tax collections for June reached $9.6 million, compared to $2.3 million for June 1996. Personal property tax revenue was $3.3 million, compared to $527,000 for June 1996. Penalties and interest reached $2.6 million, compared to $580,000 in June 1996.But it doesn't stop there. Income tax revenue was $19.3 million, compared to $15.6 million in June 1996.

Finally.Maryland's term on the economic tundra seems over. After eight years of unaccustomed slow growth, employment turbulence and fiscal doubt, the state has rejoined the nation in the sunny commercial uplands.Maryland gave birth to 40,000 jobs last year and is expected to mint at least another 40,000 this year. How good is 40,000 jobs? From 1989 to 1996, the state managed to add 54,000 jobs -- less than 8,000 annually.Unemployment is down. Incomes are up, and so are tax collections. Layoffs have dwindled.

Maryland finished its financial year in remarkably good shape with a $117 million surplus that is the largest in a decade, officials said yesterday.During the fiscal year that ended June 30, state revenues by far exceeded projections, chiefly because of higher-than-expected income tax collections generated by Maryland's robust economy.Gov. Parris N. Glendening called it "very good news," and said if re-elected, he would seek to devote a significant portion of the surplus to renovating and building schools.

ALBANY, N.Y. - New York state tax collections in the first two months of 2002 are falling 6.6 percent short, or $500 million below projections made just six weeks ago in Gov. George E. Pataki's proposed budget, state officials said. The January tax collection was $179 million lower than anticipated, state officials said. The February take was $321 million below the target. The decline surprised state officials because Pataki's budget proposal was based on post-Sept. 11 assessments, and its revenue estimates were supposed to reflect the lost jobs, relocations and business interruptions caused by the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

Maryland continues to collect less sales and income tax revenues than expected, raising the possibility that the state will end the budget year with a deficit for the first time since 1992. The dour revenue outlook likely will mean that Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. will cut even deeper into the coming fiscal year's budget, which takes effect on July 1. The administration is already preparing for up to $500 million in reductions to be made in the next several weeks, the first phase in closing a projected $1 billion gap between receipts and expenses.

Maryland's tax collections are coming in on target this year, according to newly released state figures, but Board of Revenue Estimates members cautioned that the economic picture remains uncertain. The latest estimates are in line with those that state lawmakers used as the basis for tax increases and recommended cuts in future spending they enacted during last month's special session, meaning that barring an economic slowdown or huge new spending programs, the state will not likely return to the days of projected deficits anytime soon.

The state Senate voted Thursday to significantly raise taxes on Marylanders earning half a million dollars or more — prompting complaints that liberals were bent on launching class warfare in the state. The Senate's vote to adopt what is being dubbed a "millionaire's tax" came after some liberal-leaning senators said they would refuse to support a smaller, across-the-board increase in income taxes unless the wealthy took a special hit. The chamber was considering a plan to raise taxes on most Maryland taxpayers by up to a quarter of a percentage point — a proposal that eventually passed by a vote of 26-20.

Each year, the IRS puts out a list of the top 12 scams to watch out for -- or not perpetrate. This year's list : Identity theft The IRS says it has a comprehensive strategy targeting ID theft. It also has increased internal reviews “to spot false tax returns before tax refunds are issued and is working to help victims of identity theft refund schemes.” Phishing , in which a thief sends an email or sets up a fake website with the hope of luring consumers to giving up some of their personal information.

After a series of cheerful announcements about better-than-expected tax revenues, Maryland's Board of Revenue Estimates reversed that Friday, projecting that the state would take in $120 million less, mostly blaming weaker-than-expected sales tax figures. "It means [the General Assembly] needs to be very careful about spending and borrowing," said Comptroller Peter Franchot, who chairs the revenue panel. "I've been very consistent to say we are in a very fragile, feeble recovery.

Howard County income tax collections — the second-largest source of county revenue — continue to increase, which will likely help the county avoid a serious budget shortfall this coming year. "This number kind of confirmed that we are not going to have any shortfalls," said Raymond S. Wacks, Howard's budget director. "The economy is relatively strong in Howard County. We're on track. " The largest source of revenue, property tax collections, is expected to remain mostly flat until at least 2014, as home values continue to decline.

In the latest battle between the states, officials in Virginia and Maryland are squaring off over whose budget-balancing prowess is greater. First, after Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell announced his state ended the year with $544 million in cash, $234 million more than expected, the Republican Party there crowed that Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley was, at the same time, predicting a $1 billion shortfall and floating the possibility of tax increases....

It comes as no surprise that Gov. Martin O'Malley and former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. are duking it out in this fall's election over their respective records as Maryland's chief executive. Evaluating who did a better job running the state is important. But so is a sense of where either man would lead us during another four (or, in Mr. Ehrlich's case, potentially eight) years in office. Mr. Ehrlich recently released "Roadmap to 2020," a compendium of ideas he hopes to pursue. It is vague in many of the specifics and frequently fails to address circumstances that have changed since he left office.

ANNAPOLIS -- Maryland sales tax collections in March not only exceeded estimates, but also exceeded actual collections for the same month in each of the past two years, signaling that a recovery is under way, the state's chief tax collector said yesterday."

Your hunch was right. Your employer is making a lot more money. You're not.Thanks to higher profits, tax collections from Maryland corporations soared by 12.6 percent during August and September, compared with the same months last year.By contrast, personal income tax received from Marylanders rose only 4.6 percent. The $575.3 million collected in personal income tax for the two months was actually 2.6 percent less than what state budget gnomes had expected it to be.Corporate tax receipts, on the other hand, are 2.2 percent ahead of expectations.

When the current fiscal year ends in June, Maryland's tax collections will likely have dropped 5.2 percent from the previous year, the worst showing on record. Personal income in 2009 is expected to show the lowest growth rate since 1954; unemployment is at its highest level since 1983 and is expected to get worse; and solid economic growth is not expected until 2012 at the least. Believe it or not, that counts as good news, at least in a relative sense. The figures released Wednesday by the Board of Revenue Estimates are about the same as they were in the group's last report, in December, and that one was largely unchanged from September.

To get beyond all the spin from both sides about the state budget, take a quick look at Appendix F in the back of the budget highlights book Gov. Martin O'Malley released Tuesday. That's where you find the state's general fund summary and a forecast of what is likely to happen to Maryland's finances over the next five years. It is the Rosetta Stone of state budgets. Here's what it says this year: Governor O'Malley's spending plan would, if all goes according to plan, leave $274 million in the state's bank account at the end of fiscal 2011.