Tobacco Tax

House acts, Senate apt to balk at closing tax loophole The Maryland House of Delegates passed legislation yesterday aimed at ending what Majority Leader Kumar P. Barve called the "most gigantic tax loophole on the books," referring to a strategy mostly used by big-ticket real estate developers that critics say costs the state tens of millions of dollars. But Senate President Thomas Mike V. Miller said the measure is not likely to win passage in his chamber this year, and more likely would be considered for a broader plan to close a projected $1.5 billion shortfall next year.

Trying to build support for one of his key initiatives, Gov. Parris N. Glendening sent legislators a $153 million spending package yesterday that is contingent on the General Assembly passing his proposed increase in the tobacco tax.The spending plan includes $3.8 million to help deal with systemic failures in Baltimore's court system, $1.8 million to finish planning for the renovation of the Hippodrome Theater and other projects dear to the hearts of...

Lawmakers ignore menace of alcoholWhy are our politicians continuing to press for tougher legislation and higher taxes on tobacco products while ignoring the dangers of alcohol? Nicotine may be an addictive drug, but alcohol can be a mind-altering addictive drug.I have never heard of anyone being maimed or killed by a driver smoking cigarettes before getting behind the wheel. I have not heard of a case where someone was hurt or killed during a smoking rage. Has there been any case of spousal abuse caused by smoking?

WHEN THE GREAT legislative smoking war ended dramatically one month ago with a 30-cents-a-pack tax increase, generals on both sides conceded a certain battle fatigue, a weariness sufficient to keep them off the field for a year.Sen. Christopher Van Hollen Jr., a Montgomery Democrat who leads the Senate tax proponents, said he would probably do some regrouping next year. Gov. Parris N. Glendening, who used the power of pork in his failed effort to win votes for a $1-a-pack tax increase proposal, might be inclined to rest a year as well.

Snuffing out the hopes of health advocates, a Senate committee rejected legislation yesterday that would have increased the state's tax on cigarettes and created Maryland's first tax on smokeless tobacco products and cigars.The vote by the Budget and Taxation Committee effectively ends debate on the tobacco tax issue for the remainder of the General Assembly's 90-day session, lawmakers said.By the time the panel met to vote on a bill to raise the state's 36-cents-a-pack tax on cigarettes by $1.50, proponents knew that the proposal had no chance of passage.

Armed with a poll showing bipartisan support for a $1.50-a-pack increase in Maryland's cigarette tax, anti-smoking advocates vowed yesterday to make the tax a central issue in the governor's race and legislative elections."

Calling it a flawed deal but one that will save lives, state Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. announced yesterday that Maryland would accept a tobacco settlement that will pay the state more than $4.2 billion, take cigarette ads off billboards and taxis, ban Joe Camel-style cartoons and finance anti-smoking campaigns.Flanked by Gov. Parris N. Glendening and Baltimore attorney Peter G. Angelos, whose law firm is likely to collect several hundred million dollars for handling the state's lawsuit, Curran said he had tried but failed to persuade several other states to hold out for a better deal.

No evidence that Lee slaying was racialRecent columns in The Sun have questioned the decision of federal prosecutors not to pursue civil rights charges in the killing of Joel Lee. One column even suggested that this was a catalyst for the recent wave of violence against the Korean-American community. These sensational assertions are wrong, disappointing and irresponsible.While scrutiny and criticism of government decisions are prerogatives of a free press, they should be based on a basic understanding of the requirements of the law, and an appreciation for the fact-finding and decision-making process of the Department of Justice.

SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE is overwhelming that cigarette smoking is detrimental to your health. Seven thousand six hundred Marylanders will die this year because of their smoking habits. Taxpayers will pay $123 million in Medicaid costs in Maryland to provide medical treatment for those with tobacco-related illnesses. The total annual health-care bill for smoking-related illnesses in Maryland is $4 billion.Smoking is by far Maryland's No. 1 killer. Smokers are five times more likely to turn into binge drinkers and 15 times more likely to turn to marijuana.

GOV. PARRIS N. GLENDENING's plan for cutting the state's high income tax rate should be applauded by members of the business community who have vociferously demanded just such reduction. But whether Maryland can afford the full 10 percent cut phased in over three years isn't at all certain, especially since the nation's long economic expansion won't last forever.Paying for an income-tax reduction has always been the sticking point. Most officials agree that a lower tax rate would help boost business development and send a strong, positive signal to corporate executives.

When Maryland doubled the cigarette tax to $2 a pack, some residents may have found a reason to quit. Smugglers, on the other hand, seem to have found a motive to step up their activities. Since the tax increase took effect in January, agents with the Maryland Comptroller's Office have seized more than 46,000 packs of contraband cigarettes - smokes brought illegally across state lines. That's a nearly four-fold increase from about 13,000 packs seized over the same period in 2007. And in the largest bust so far this year, agents confiscated nearly 8,000 cigarette packs after stopping a man driving a Chevrolet Astro van on Interstate 495 this month.

One of the latest shortfalls to hit the state budget may also prove the healthiest: People are buying fewer cigarettes in Maryland. Sales are down 25 percent since the tax on cigarettes was doubled to $2 per pack in January; the budget approved last spring anticipated a 17 percent drop. As a result, the state comptroller's office is expected to collect $20 million to $25 million less in tobacco tax revenue in the current fiscal year. There are only two explanations for this - either smokers are buying (and smoking)

LANDOVER -- Gov. Martin O'Malley said yesterday that he wants to double the state's cigarette tax to $2 a pack, with the goals of tackling the state's looming budget deficit and providing a "down payment" on a broader expansion of health care coverage. "Our hope is to use the proceeds first for debt relief, but then to bridge us to a more rational, compassionate and common sense system that allows us to give people the coverage up-front so they're not suffering more and costing us more," O'Malley told elderly residents at an assisted living center, where he also outlined tax breaks for seniors and low-income families.

Expansion of credit offsets tax increases Sun readers are getting a good overview of Gov. Martin O'Malley's emerging proposals for revenue enhancements thanks to the careful work of reporters Andrew A. Green and James Drew ("O'Malley details cut in income tax," Sept. 20). However, one key element of the governor's plan - an increase in the state's refundable earned income credit - deserves more attention. This piece of the plan is critical to the governor's goal of tax fairness because increasing the state's earned income credit will help offset the impact of regressive proposed tax increases, such as the 1-cent increase in sales tax, which weighs disproportionately on low-income families.

Tax hike wrong way to balance budget The "Sales tax solution" (Sept. 7) to a hyped budget crisis arising from the phony structural deficit is just another lame justification for fleecing Maryland taxpayers from an administration addicted to profligate spending and gargantuan government. Maryland families and businesses endeavor to live within their means by adjusting their expenditures so that they do not exceed the available funds. Only irresponsible politicians reverse the process by first deciding how much of our money they are going to spend and then wringing whatever additional money is needed from taxpayers to cover any shortfall.

House acts, Senate apt to balk at closing tax loophole The Maryland House of Delegates passed legislation yesterday aimed at ending what Majority Leader Kumar P. Barve called the "most gigantic tax loophole on the books," referring to a strategy mostly used by big-ticket real estate developers that critics say costs the state tens of millions of dollars. But Senate President Thomas Mike V. Miller said the measure is not likely to win passage in his chamber this year, and more likely would be considered for a broader plan to close a projected $1.5 billion shortfall next year.

The Maryland House of Delegates approved a plan yesterday to extend medical coverage to more than 100,000 residents, but the measure faces strong opposition in the Senate, where legislative leaders oppose funding health care through a $1 increase in the tobacco tax. The House vote of 102-37, largely along party lines in the Democratic-controlled chamber, could mark an end to months of work on the bill, which backers said is a first step toward universal coverage....

After hours of testimony yesterday on ways to expand health coverage in Maryland, a key committee will turn its efforts to combining various proposals into a comprehensive piece of legislation that would likely pass the House of Delegates. "We'll continue to work within the committee, sectioning the bills into pieces," said Del. Peter A. Hammen, chairman of the House Health and Government Operations Committee and sponsor of one of eight bills the panel reviewed at yesterday's hearing. "We'll be looking globally at all the different issues, and we'll get to the point where we just have one bill."

The Maryland Senate's budget-writing committee endorsed nearly $460 million in cuts to a proposed state spending plan yesterday, removing millions from environmental and higher education programs against the wishes of Gov. Parris N. Glendening. During a marathon weekend work session that laid the foundation for the General Assembly's toughest task of the year, legislators reversed Glendening's call to cancel the final 2-percent stage of a five-year, 10 per- cent income tax cut. The cut would provide an average family with about $75, and would cost the state about $177 million in revenue over the next 15 months.

Better ways to treat, identify breast cancer are long overdue I agree with Dr. Neil B. Friedman that mammography often picks up breast cancer at an early stage and questionable research should not be the basis for screening guidelines ("Many saved lives proclaim value of mammograms," Opinion Commentary, Feb. 22, and "Mammogram lacks better option," Feb. 28). However, he did not mention that very little is known about the earliest stage of breast cancer (DCIS) -- and if and how it should be treated.