40 O’Malley-Brown Tax Hikes Will Cost $20 Billion By 2018

Annapolis - Change Maryland released today stunning new figures on the tax impact that is accruing to Marylander's since 2007. In two separate reports released today, Change Maryland documents the cumulative impact to 2014 and the one projected to 2018, the latest year for which there are official government estimates.

From 2007 to 2018, Marylander's will have paid nearly $20 billion in additional taxes and fees stemming from 40 separate O’Malley-Brown increases - an amount which is over and above the tax burden as it existed before 2007 and assumes no additional levies are enacted.

"Nobody expected the total impact to be this staggering, not even me," said Change Maryland founder and Chairman Larry Hogan. "Struggling Maryland families and small businesses simply cannot afford another four years of an O'Malley-Brown tax and spend binge."

Governor Martin O'Malley is backing Lt. Governor Anthony Brown as the heir apparent to the state's top office upon the expiration of his term in 2015. The Lt. Governor has stated a need to continue record "investments" in state government - code word for increasing taxes.

"The prospect of another four years of these policies will have a devastating effect on the productive components of the economy - increasing tax flight, continuing the small business exodus and large corporate headquarters relocating to other states," added Hogan.

Since 2007, nearly 31,000 Marylander's fled to other states, the highest in the region, 6500 small businesses have left or shut down, the second-highest in the region, and just three Fortune 500 companies remain in the state. This is a sharp contrast to 24 large corporate headquarters in Virginia and 23 in Pennsylvania.

The cumulative tax impact from 2007 to 2014 - the eight years of the O'Malley Administration - is $9.5 billion. The dramatic spike of the cumulative tax burden, an over two-fold increase in four years, is due to the phasing in of the gasoline tax and related transportation levies. Additionally, the massive sales, corporate income and sales tax increases from 2007 are recurring revenue generators that, combined with subsequent revenue measures, increase the size and scope of government beyond anything ever witnessed in Maryland history.

"This is not just an argument about big government," said Hogan. "It's about a government that is on auto-pilot to grow exponentially, beyond anything any of us have ever seen in our lifetimes and that comes directly at the expense of the private sector economy that we desperately need to diversify our employment base."

Previously, Change Maryland released a report that updated tax and fee increases following the 2013 session, which brought the total to 37 increases that remove $3.1 billion annually over and above the existing tax burden. These latest reports adds new fees for gun purchases, enacted in 2013, and two newly-discovered measures buried in omnibus legislation and not subject to normal legislative procedures.

Change Maryland is the largest and fastest growing citizens organization in the state, made up of nearly 40,000 people. Its tax reports are derived from official government revenue estimates.