House Ways and Means Committee, House Appropriations Committee
Senate Budget and Taxation Committee
Date:
2 Nov 2007
LWV Position:
Oppose
The League of Women Voters of Maryland has long supported the adoption of a more progressive income tax as our first choice for generation of revenues for the state of Maryland. While recognizing that the proposed SB 12 and SB 13 are very slightly progressive up to incomes of $200,000 and that they restore the tax rates that existed prior to recent tax cuts, we think that adoption of either of these bills would result in the loss of an opportunity to make the Maryland income tax a somewhat fairer tax.
The League believes that the state’s overall tax system should be both equitable and fair to its citizens. At the present time, low-income and moderate-income taxpayers pay a higher portion of their incomes in the combination of state and local taxes than do wealthy taxpayers. By increasing the progressivity of the income tax along the lines proposed by the governor, we would be a step further toward reaching that goal.
Therefore, we oppose the adoption of either of these bills, unless the top rates and lower rates proposed by the governor are added as amendments. In order to resolve this fiscal situation, everyone in Maryland is going to have to pay their fair share.
