Hogan announces $4.6 billion tax relief package

Small businesses, families and retirees in Maryland will be getting tax relief, Gov. Larry Hogan said.

The governor announced that a $4.6 billion package will provide tax breaks in the form of eliminating state retirement taxes, provide for $650 million in tax relief for the working class, and extend the More Jobs for Marylanders Act 3.0 through 2027.

“Next to our health recovery from the worst pandemic in more than a century, nothing is more important than our continued economic recovery,” Hogan said during the event. “With all of the important announcements we are making today, we are continuing our focus on delivering exactly what we promised – real, long-term relief to hardworking Marylanders, small business, and retirees, creating more jobs and more opportunity in every corner of the state, and continuing to lead the nation in economic recovery so that our state comes back even stronger and better than ever before.”

The moves come following Hogan’s announcement last fall that he would work to provide tax relief and increase the capacity of the state’s Rainy Day Fund given the state’s record budget surplus of $2.5 billion.

Hogan’s said his first order is eliminating 100% of state retirement taxes in Maryland, which will save retirees $4 billion. The initiative will be phased in over time by utilizing an income exclusion beginning in 2022.

According to a news release, the governor has successfully implemented retirement tax relief for law enforcement officials, first responders, and veterans as the Legislature “has not acted on broad-based relief for retirees.”

By providing tax relief for working families, according to the release, the RELIEF Act of 2021 makes the enhanced earned income tax credit permanent. The Act raised the refundable tax credit to 100% for those workers without a qualifying child and upped the tax credit to 45% for other workers. However, the relief is temporary.

The bill, according to the release, provides Marylanders an additional $650 million in cumulative tax relief.

Small businesses will also benefit from legislation the governor is proposing that would eliminate filing fees for those businesses willing to submit annual reports online with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation, according to the release.

The initiative would eliminate the $300 annual filing fee for businesses, limited liability corporations, and other legal entities, according to the release. The plan would also call for the elimination of the $100 fee for family farms.

If adopted, Maryland would become the first state in the nation to provide a zero-fee option for all businesses eligible for this initiative.

The More Jobs for Marylanders Act 3.0, according to the release, calls for an additional five years to be tacked onto the program that provides tax incentives to new and existing manufacturers that locate or expand in the state. The bill targets those industries who create new jobs and also non-manufacturers who locate or expand in Maryland Opportunity Zones.

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