Maryland Democratic Legislators Open to Reducing Corporate Tax Rate

At a Maryland Chamber of Commerce panel last week, legislators in Maryland's Democratic majority expressed openness to reducing the state's 8.25 percent corporate tax rate. From the Maryland Reporter:

“I would be happy to work with Ed to see if we can get together with the House and Senate and certainly go forward with hearings and getting what kind of fiscal impact it has,” [Montgomery County Delegate Sheila] Hixson said. “Sometimes in the state legislature we get accused of not being business friendly, but there is a sense that we want everybody working together in this point in time to help you.”

[Sen. Edward] Kasemeyer, a Howard County Democrat and chair of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, proposed cutting one quarter of one percent per year until “the impact wouldn’t be so significant every year.”

“I think it would be for the better of Maryland if we could reduce it,” Kasemeyer said. “From a perception basis, the 8.25% rate makes us look out of line. We get around $750 million from the corporate income tax.”

Maryland ranked 41st out of 50 states in our most recent State Business Tax Climate Index. While the corporate tax rate is high, Marylanders also pay high income and property taxes.