I dislike Martin Owe'Malley and his tax hikes so much I have purchased several items in Delaware to help make the tax hikes backfire. I have never gone out of my way to purchase in Delaware before, but now if I have something large to buy, and I happen to drive through Delaware, I stop and buy there.

I dislike Martin Owe'Malley and his tax hikes so much I have purchased several items in Delaware to help make the tax hikes backfire. I have never gone out of my way to purchase in Delaware before, but now if I have something large to buy, and I happen to drive through Delaware, I stop and buy there.

The 20% increase in the sales tax rate was the primary culprit. The revenue take was not assisted by increasing the tax rate. Stop with the socialism and look at the facts.

Government is a funny kind of a thing. It raises a tax that is particularly easy to evade, geographically speaking, then is surprised when receipts fall.

The sales tax - a tax that the "Figthin' for the Workers" Dems passed - falls most heavily on the poor and the working classes. It's most often a Republican option, or in the the case of the Deep South a way to fund government without taxing the all-important landowners. It was a terrible option last year, and many predicted it would make criminals out of people trying to avoid it, and would not raise the money needed. Told you so!

Maybe at long last, we will look for a revenue source that is unavoidable, is progressive, and will not hurt the economy: a state-wide charge on taxable land values.

It can be done to exempt the poor, and will not hurt investment and enterprise. From Adam Smith to Milton Friedman to William Vickrey, great minds agree this charge on land value makes the most sense.
www.marylandlandtax.org

I read Laura's story today and was struck by the following sentence: "Had the sales tax not been increased during the second half of the year as a result of the special session, the revenue take would have ranked as the worst performance since 1991."

This sentence -- which was not attributed to a source -- is included as though it's gospel. The fact is that increases in taxes like this have an impact on consumer behavior. Raising the sales tax 20% has no doubt caused purchasers to seek goods from sources outside the state (or beyond the reach of the tax). This is particularly evident when you look at the receipts from the increased tobacco tax.

In short, raising taxes does not necessarily generate greater revenues. Although I am not holding my breath waiting for these tax increases to be eliminated, the good news is that our "leaders" in Annapolis may be forced to look at more responsible ways (e.g. meaningful spending cuts) to deal with the budget situation.

Concern about losing sales tax revenue to other states should concern us all. However, before we start jumping to conclusions, lets look at the facts. People in Western MD are not going to spend the money to drive to Delaware to avoid a penny more tax on each dollar spent. Same for Southern Maryland, the Lower Eastern Shore, Suburban DC, etc. The drop in sales tax revenue may just as likely be a result of less purchasing by consumers as they are forced to spend their $$ on gasoline. Before we decry the effects of the sales tax increase viza vi other states, lets look at the revenue by county to see what the facts are on the ground. I want to see some analysis under headlines, not speculations.

It appears our governor and legislature have never taken any economics or geography classes. Raising taxes in a challenging economy will rarely result in increased revenues. Especially when tax-free shopping is a short drive (or computer screen!) away.

I’ll be curious to see Delaware’s sale tax numbers if you can find them.

How odd... I have lived in MD all my 36 years and this is the first time I have ever heard of the "use tax." I was inclined to disbelief, until I checked it out on the Comptroller of Maryland web site. Now that I have read it and grasped the concept, my questions are: Why does the State have a virtually unenforceable law on the books? and, if this law is ostensibly to "[protect] Maryland businesses from unfair competition," does the State distribute any monies collected to the poor businesses? Somehow I doubt it!