Proposal deemed ‘bad for all businesses and consumers’
Lawmakers in Annapolis are considering a new plan to generate revenue by decreasing the Maryland sales tax from 6% to 5% but extending the fee to include additional services, and Worcester County officials are leery of the financial effects.
“This is essentially an indirect citizen tax because everyone uses services,” Worcester County Chamber of Commerce in Ocean Pines President Kerrie Bunting said of the proposed Sales and Use Tax-Rate Reduction and Services bill. “It is bad for all businesses and consumers.”
Pros and cons
The amendment would tax services not currently affected by traditional sales tax, such as advertising, landscaping, accounting, dry cleaning, funeral services, and media streaming. The House Ways and Means Committee heard the bill on March 11.
Proponents of the legislation argue that it would generate roughly $3 billion in revenue sources for state priorities, such as the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, the costly education policy that aims to enrich student learning by increasing school system funding by $3.8 billion each year over the next ten years, and the Transportation Trust Fund.
The current writing of the legislation excludes childcare, grant making and religious organizations but defines taxable services as “any activity engaged in for a buyer for consideration.” This includes telephone answering services, credit reporting, pay-per-view television, security systems, and the “fabrication, printing, or production of tangible personal property or a digital product by special order,” among others.
Critics of the bill worry that it would disproportionately affect small establishments.
Now Eveybody will become a TAX collector.. If you don’t collect it, you still have to pay it out of your own pocket.
I told you and warned you and told you and warned you over and over and over again, but remember, YOU ALL WANTED THIS, YOU DEMANDED FOR IT, YOU BEGGED FOR IT, and YOU VOTED FOR IT. I told you all to stand up and help fight back but you clowns think nothing can affect you, UNTIL IT DOES.
And YES this is the exact reason they want to do this, not just for more tax money, but because EVERYONE USES SERVICES so EVERYONE WILL GET TAXED, then this just opens the door for other things to be taxed or for things to be higher taxed.
Just like how the City of SBY or wicomico country or the state of maryland demands you pay more for house being built to have sprinkler systems in them, yet if you live in the city of SBY you now have to pay a emergency service fee, akak tax that is not a tax they say but a fee for fire protection when your house is protected by sprinklers, new built homes are, and yet they will collect said tax opps I mean fee under the land tax or property tax. bubt it is not a tax. And also remember this is the same fire department that used nearly a 1 million grant to buy a boat that sits in dry dock till this day. and the same fire department that built a new palace that can;t even hold or hanld ethe trucks to park on its floor.
More robbery of the taxpayers so the state has a bigger slush fund to do stupid stuff and pet projects with.
this type of thing is pushing more marylanders to leave permanently! and don’t get me started on educating illegals that are 3 and 4 years old. their families pay nothing. i can’t hardly support myself working 2 jobs because I’m supporting another whole family I don’t even know. I hate Maryland!