Maryland Governor Proposes Sales Tax On Tanning Services

Gov. Martin O’Malley is proposing that the state of Maryland increase its sales tax from 5 percent to 6 percent, and expand it to cover services from health clubs, tanning salons, massage businesses and real estate property management.

O’Malley announced his proposal at a Howard County home Sept. 20, along with his plan to cut the state’s portion of the property tax by 3 cents—which would erase an increase approved four years ago—as part of a package effort to eliminate the state’s projected $1.7 billion budget shortfall and add hundreds of millions in new spending. Additionally, he unveiled a plan to add new, higher-income tax brackets for top earners while cutting income taxes for most Marylanders. This measure would change the state’s income tax system from placing most everyone in the top bracket of 4.75 percent to a system where the rates are graduated by income.

“If you're a billionaire, you're now paying the same 4.75 percent rate that the woman who comes in and cleans your office at night as a second job pays,” O'Malley says. "Under this component of our budget reconciliation plan, working families will be treated much more fairly than they have been.”

Critics disagree, however, suggesting that the combination of other taxes proposed by O’Malley—including the increase in sales tax—will overshadow any income tax benefits.

Source: The Baltimore Sun