Fact Checks

Experts Have Long Predicted That Maryland Was Facing A Structural Deficit And Governor Moore Has Always Prioritized Fiscal Responsibility.

FACT: Former Governor Hogan’s “surplus” was fueled by one time factors like federal COVID-19 money funding that papered over a structural deficit that had been predicted by experts since 2017. The end of COVID funding and lack of robust economic growth made the crisis Maryland is in now predictable–but the prior administration did not have a long term solution to deal with it. Instead, the former governor spent down our cash balances–from $5.5 billion to $2.3 billion– and staged a failed press conference to show he would be even more fiscally reckless.

FACT: Since before he became governor, Governor Moore has been clear that the state must exercise fiscal restraint. Governor Moore’s budgets have maintained more than $2 billion in the Rainy Day Fund each year, well above the recommended levels, and kept positive cash balances. In fact, for the past three years, Governor Moore has introduced a budget with general funds smaller than the last–something that hasn’t happened in a decade.

Governor Moore’s Budget Cuts Taxes For The Majority Of Marylanders, Maintains Record Education Funding, And Invests In Our Economy–All While Cutting $2 Billion In Spending.

FACT: This year, Governor Moore introduced a fiscally responsible budget that not only closes the structural deficit by $2.25 billion, but also cuts taxes for nearly ⅔ of Marylanders, preserves record funding for education, and makes targeted investments to grow our economy. The budget also maintains a Rainy Day Fund balance of 8.0% and flips the projected cash shortfall of $2.95 billion to a positive cash ending balance.

FACT: Governor Moore’s plan will balance $2 billion in cuts with $1 billion in new revenue using a strategic tax reform plan to make Maryland taxes simpler, fairer, and pro-growth. Under Governor Moore’s plan:

Nearly two-thirds of Marylanders will get a tax cut.

82% of Marylanders will either get a tax cut or see no change at all.

Maryland will lower the overall corporate tax rate by closing corporate tax loopholes.

There will not be an increase in the sales or property tax rate for the third year in a row.

FACT: The majority of revenues in the tax package will be paid for by the top 1% of Marylanders because Governor Moore refuses to balance the budget on the backs of middle class families. That’s why his plan targets relief towards middle and working class families and the average Marylander can expect to see relief:

A teacher who is a single mom of two kids can and makes nearly $80,000 can expect to see a tax cut around $422.

A young professional who is just starting their career and makes $45,000 a year can expect to see a tax cut around $188.

A middle class family of five whose household takes in $115,000 a year can expect to see a tax cut around $437.

A low-income mom of a young child and makes $16,000 a year can expect to see a cut around $222.

FACT: It is simply not true that if a state asks its wealthiest residents to pay a little bit more in taxes they will just pack up and leave. The millionaire tax flight myth has been repeatedly debunked by economists and budget experts. In the case of Maryland, Marylanders did not flee the state when Governor O’Malley implemented a millionaire’s tax–there were simply fewer millionaires in Maryland after the global economy and stock market crashed.

Governor Moore Did Not Implement 338 Taxes And Fees– That Number Is Blatantly False

FACT: Bad faith actors are saying Governor Moore implemented 338 consecutive tax hikes to date. This is simply false. An analysis by the Baltimore Sun debunked this claim and found that the vast majority of these supposed “338 tax hikes” were not new and in some cases, not even tax increases at all. According to the Baltimore Sun, only 10% of the cited fees were new and only four of those could directly impact consumers. The rest–90 percent–of these so-called tax hikes were existing fees and many were counted several times. Even worse, some of these “increases” Maryland Republicans listed were actually decreases, were never enacted, or were never actually proposing an increase.

FACT: The Moore Administration is focused on making sure that Marylanders can have better roads, bridges, and transportation systems no matter where they live. The retail delivery fee is directly levied on businesses–not onto Marylanders. It is up to the business, not the state, if they want to place this burden on consumers or pay it themselves. The State is asking companies to pay a little more to fix the roads they’re using on a regular basis. This proposal will not apply to any deliveries that are otherwise exempt from Maryland sales tax, which includes things like groceries and prescription drugs.