MD House Republicans call on Governor Hogan to veto bills to increase spending

House Republicans today sent a letter to Governor Hogan requesting he veto a package of bills that will massively increase state spending and raise taxes on Marylanders. They asked the Governor to veto:

House Bill 1300 – Blueprint for Maryland’s Future – Implementation, known better as the “Kirwan Bill”, this legislation increases state and local spending on education by $4 billion per year.

House Bill 732 – Taxation – Tobacco Tax, Sales and Use Tax, and Digital Advertising Gross Revenues Tax increases taxes on a variety of tobacco products. The bill is the first in the nation to tax digital advertising; a likely violation of federal law. 

House Bill 932 – 21st Century Economic Fairness Act expands sales tax to digital products; music, movies, e-books, audio books, etc. costing Maryland’s taxpayers $120 million per year. 

“With the economic toll the COVID-19 pandemic is having on our economy, this is the worst possible time to be increasing spending and increasing taxes,” said House Minority Leader Nic Kipke. “Maryland is facing a potential budge shortfall of nearly $3 billion by the end of this fiscal year. We cannot afford this level of spending and Marylanders cannot afford higher taxes.”

“The members of our Caucus were opposed to these bills during the 2020 Legislative Session,” said House Minority Whip Kathy Szeliga. “We knew then these bills were ill-advised at their conception. Now they are also abysmally timed.”

The letter is available here.