Tax Policy

Disinclined as we may be to pity the plight of those making more than $500,000 a year, the state Senate, in its attempt to raise more revenue from such top earners, has gone too far. The Senate has adopted a plan that appears to be unique among the 50 states and would violate a cardinal rule of income tax policy, which is that a dollar earned should not cost more than a dollar in taxes. When the House of Delegates takes up the budget, it will have some work to do to clean this mess up. Gov.Martin O'Malleyproposed what remains the most sensible plan for raising new revenue through the income tax. Rather than changing the rates, his plan was to phase out some exemptions and deductions for the top 20 percent of Maryland earners.

After T. Rowe Price executives recapped last year's highlights at Tuesday's annual meeting, a shareholder raised concerns about the loss of a top money manager, competition from exchange-traded funds and an Obama Administration tax proposal that could dampen Price's retirement business. President and CEO James A. C. Kennedy said that Kris Jenner, the former manager of T. Rowe Price Health Sciences Fund, left "millions" in deferred compensation on the table by leaving the company in February.

After reading the editorial "The GOP tax hike" (Dec. 22), an obvious question came to mind: How is it that not approving an extension of the Obama payroll tax cut is evil and anyone against extending it must be certifiably insane, yet when Obama wanted to end the so-called "Bush tax cuts" he was doing the right thing? I think that perhaps there may be a slight bias in your thought processes. Ed Roth, Ellicott

Maryland's boating industry suffered badly in the economic downturn and has yet to fully recover, so it's no surprise that many in the boat business are once again looking for help from Annapolis. Unfortunately, the latest proposal - to cap the vessel excise tax at $10,000 - could do more harm than good. That's not just some knock against millionaires and their yachts - although they would be the primary beneficiaries of such a tax policy. Since the excise tax is set at 5 percent, that means only boats worth more than $200,000 would be affected.

This Labor Day finds almost 17 percent of Americans unemployed or no longer looking for work. We must get them into the economy. They are prevented from working by government policies, and that is just not fair. Plus, we need them to help us handle our global competitors. Our country needs to create an economic and educational culture that welcomes our unemployed back in the fold and makes it easy for companies to invest in equipment that will lead to growth. What is the problem?

Dedicating tax revenues to specific government activities is all the rage among special-interest groups. But it is dreadful tax policy that should be resisted strongly by legislators.Backers of the state's shock-trauma system want a new "trauma tax" earmarked exclusively for preserving and enlarging emergency medical services. Supporters of the University of Maryland College Park want to cut funds for mass transit and road building and dedicate that tax money instead to college campuses. The Maryland Higher Education Commission wants to go even further, seeking higher business taxes to protect community colleges from recessionary budget cuts.

WASHINGTON -- Federal Reserve policy-makers might raise interest rates again because the U.S. economy could be growing too quickly, raising the risk that inflation is likely to accelerate, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan told the Senate Banking Committee yesterday in the second of his semiannual reports on the economy and monetary policy.Greenspan, however, offered little elaboration on his warning -- identical to one he gave the House Banking Committee last week -- because senators were more interested in dragging the central bank head into an argument over tax policy.

Howard County may be one of Maryland's wealthiest places, but up to 15,000 residents don't have health insurance, thousands need drug treatment, child abuse cases are at a high level and social services staffing is down by one-third. Those disparities sparked a debate on tax policy among several legislators at a breakfast yesterday sponsored by the Association of Community Services, an umbrella group of local social service agencies trying to negotiate their way through Maryland's budget crisis.

Dr. Benjamin Carson, the eminent Johns Hopkins pediatric neurosurgeon, has received much attention over the years not only for his skills in the operating room but for what he has achieved beyond it. For many Baltimoreans, his story is a familiar one - born in Detroit, raised in poverty by a single mother, he overcame much to not only become a Medal of Freedom winner but a benefactor to thousands of young people through his scholarship program....

In addressing the so-called "fiscal cliff" of tax increases and deep spending cuts, President Obama needs to hold firm in letting the tax breaks for the wealthy expire ("Obama talks tough," Nov. 15). This is a matter of fairness on tax policy that he stressed during the campaign. Exit polling showed that 60 percent of the electorate support higher taxes for the wealthy. That's where Congress should start in working out a balanced approach to keeping the country from going off the "fiscal cliff.

Dr. Benjamin Carson, the eminent Johns Hopkins pediatric neurosurgeon, has received much attention over the years not only for his skills in the operating room but for what he has achieved beyond it. For many Baltimoreans, his story is a familiar one - born in Detroit, raised in poverty by a single mother, he overcame much to not only become a Medal of Freedom winner but a benefactor to thousands of young people through his scholarship program....

Visitors to Ocean City are often struck by the contrasting fortunes of the vacant Ocean Plaza Mall on 94 t h Street and the bustle of development along U.S. 50 in West Ocean City , with its new Walmart and other big-box stores. There are a number of reasons for this, but one in particular sticks in the resort town's collective craw: double taxation. In essence, property owners in Ocean City have been subsidizing sprawl development outside town limits, a self-destructive policy that can only be described as dumb growth.

It has been reported that House Speaker John Boehner is backing a compromise on taxing those "rich" Americans who make over $1 million a year. Unfortunately, that threshold, as well as President Barack Obama's proposal to increase taxes on those making over $250,000 at the Clinton era tax rate, is not going to solve the long term deficit problem, especially while spending remains out of control as it has been during Mr. Obama's presidency....

In addressing the so-called "fiscal cliff" of tax increases and deep spending cuts, President Obama needs to hold firm in letting the tax breaks for the wealthy expire ("Obama talks tough," Nov. 15). This is a matter of fairness on tax policy that he stressed during the campaign. Exit polling showed that 60 percent of the electorate support higher taxes for the wealthy. That's where Congress should start in working out a balanced approach to keeping the country from going off the "fiscal cliff.

In the great pile of email that arrived after last Sunday's column on millionaires who whine about "class warfare," there were numerous defenses of wealthy "job creators like Mitt Romney," and an equal number of attacks on "liberals like President Obama" who believe the rich should start paying more in income taxes again. Beachterp — that's his email handle (he did not provide his full name when asked) — made a number of assertions about millionaires, including Maryland's, and the unfairness of asking them to contribute more of their earnings to the public treasuries.

Vice President Joe Biden was stronger in Thursday's debate than challenger Rep. Paul Ryan, but the matchup didn't produce the kind of clear winner that the debate between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney did. Joe Biden was Joe Biden - garrulous and heartfelt, yet unabashedly aggressive in defending the administration and attacking the opposition. Paul Ryan was Paul Ryan - wonkish, earnest and controlled. Mr. Biden largely dominated the exchange in a way that will appeal to some and may turn off others.

WITH THE APRIL 15 filing deadline, many American couples discovered again that taking on a legal commitment to each other can cost dearly at tax time.The "marriage penalty" doesn't hit every couple, but why should it hit any? Tax policy has profound social consequences, and the effects of failing marriages -- and of the failure of parents to marry -- are taking a heavy toll at all levels of society.The "marriage tax" is felt largely by two-income couples, increasing their tax burden beyond what it would be if they remained single.

WILLIAM M. GOLDSTEIN, 72 Tax lawyer William M. Goldstein, a prominent tax lawyer who argued an appeal of the definition of income in 1990 that is cited in textbooks, has died. He was 72. Mr. Goldstein died Wednesday after a yearlong battle with cancer, according to Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, the Philadelphia law firm where he was a partner for 26 years. The 1990 case Zarin v. Commissioner involved the now-deceased Atlantic City, N.J., developer David Zarin, who settled a $3.44 million debt with Resorts International Casino for $500,000 in 1981.

The early results of Maryland's sales tax holiday are in: Retailers liked it. So did their customers. But tax policy wonks? Not so much. It will be a couple of months before the state finds out just how much it lost in sales tax revenue during its third annual back-to-school tax holiday. The state had estimated that it would forfeit about $10 million by waiving the 6 percent sales tax on clothing and shoes of up to $100. Is this good fiscal policy? Probably not. Is this money that could be better spent elsewhere by the state?

What follows may sound like a message from the Dead Horse Beatings Division of The Aegis editorials operation, but it's a message that bears repeating: Government spending should be based on anticipated tax revenues, or, to put it another way, tax policy should not be adjusted simply because more government spending is approved. For the past several years, the state government, through a single term of a Republican governor and a term and a half from the current Democratic governor, has had the attitude that planning to spend more than is being brought in constitutes a "structural deficit" that can be resolved only by bringing in more revenue.