House Bill 480 – Reducing Tax Burden For More Than 70,000 Maryland Businesses
ANNAPOLIS, MD – In remarks this morning before members of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), Governor Larry Hogan reaffirmed his commitment to making Maryland a business friendly state and announced House Bill 480, Small Business Personal Property Tax Relief Act of 2015. Once signed into law, this legislation will eliminate the personal property income tax for businesses that have less than $10,000 in personal property.
"This is a burdensome tax that clearly discourages the creation of new businesses and drives existing businesses out of state," said Governor Hogan. "This is a first, but important, step in recognizing the critical role small businesses play in creating jobs and growing our state's economy."
HB 480 (cross-filed with SB 590) has 57 sponsors and bipartisan support from both chambers. Under current law, all Maryland businesses are required to pay taxes on the value of personal property such as inventory, office furniture, fixtures, equipment, and plant machinery. This legislation reflects the governor’s promise to change the way Maryland is viewed by the business community and begin the process of reducing the unnecessary tax burden that has grown over the past decade.
"The Personal Property Tax creates a disincentive for businesses to invest in capital and equipment required for their day to day operations," said NFIB Maryland State Director Jessica Cooper. "Today's legislation is a step in the right direction to providing tax relief for Maryland employers. Every time the cost to do business in our great state goes down, entrepreneurs reinvest their dollars into their businesses and improve our economy."
"The Maryland Chamber of Commerce is committed to creating an environment where small businesses can grow and prosper. We strongly support this important effort, believing Maryland must reduce the tax burden small businesses are facing," said Brien Poffenberger, President of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. "We are excited about this and other efforts that Governor Hogan is championing as part of his commitment to make Maryland more business friendly."
More than 70,000, or one-half of all Maryland’s businesses, would benefit from passage of this legislation.
Full text of HB 480 can be viewed here - HB480
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
A better start for small business would be removing or rolling back to $100 the fee to file the tax form to determine the personal property tax.
ReplyDeleteThey also need to roll back the 'use' portion of the sales and use tax.
ReplyDeleteIf a business makes a purchase in a state without a sales tax, they are still required to send in the proper amount of tax.
Meanwhile, we do appreciate what the new state administration has and is doing - keep up the good work!
Well I guess we should have all kinds of tax breaks now that we're drilling the Ocean and fracking the mountains. Maybe we can strip mine western Md and use the dirt to fill in the bay for development.
ReplyDeleteI'm not anti-business but I am a waterman and I don't want to see this place trashed. Big Oil will promise you they are completely prepared and safe for anything even if it couldn't be further from the truth. You won't even think about it until Big Oil security guards are chasing you off public beaches and illegally air dropping hundreds of thousands of gallons of chemicals on top of it.