Maryland Revenue Falls Short Despite (or Because of?) Huge Tax Hikes

We’ve reported exhaustively on Maryland’s self-destructive decision to raise essentially every state tax. Previously, the state Comptroller’s office had estimated that adding higher state income tax brackets would raise $504 million in Fiscal Year 2009; increasing the sales tax by one percentage point would add an additional $377 million; and the $1 hike in cigarette taxes would net an additional $74 million. All told, the state was expected $976 million more for its budget.

Wrong, wrong, and wrong. Newly revised estimates issued by the Comptroller’s office put the income tax revenue increase at $369 million (36% short), the sales tax increase at $112 million (70% short), and the cigarette tax increase at $57 million (23% short). Instead of $976 million, the tax hikes are now estimated to bring in only $544 million, a 44% shortfall.

An op-ed in the Baltimore Sun has some insight:

The only factor keeping the state economy afloat is our geographical position next to Washington, D.C.

Economic history has shown that if you raise taxes, you do increase revenue for a time – but you stifle economic growth.

More on Maryland here.