Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan signed two bills Tuesday morning to give taxpayers a break — a repeal of the “universally detested” rain tax and the military retirement income tax exemption legislation.
“Charging Marylanders for the rain that falls on the roof of their homes made the rain tax the most universally detested tax throughout the state, and I am pleased to finally declare an end to it,” Mr. Hogan said in a statement. “We are also making sure our veterans will be taxed less. Signing this bill is not only the right thing to do for our men and women in uniform, but it will also encourage more people to live and retire in our state. It’s a small token of the respect and appreciation we have for their service and sacrifice.”
The signing comes a few days after the state rolled back fees for tunnels, bridges and roads.
Mr. Hogan’s statement lists the bills as:
SB 863, Rain Tax Mandate Repeal (Watershed Protection and Restoration Programs, Revision), which repeals the requirement that forces local jurisdictions to collect a stormwater remediation fee, and instead authorizes such jurisdictions to do so.
SB 592: Income Tax — Subtraction Modification — Military Retirement Income — Individuals at least 65 years old, which expands the existing military retirement income tax subtraction modification by increasing the maximum amount of retirement income that can be excluded from Maryland adjusted gross income for purposes of calculating Maryland income tax liability from $5,000 to $10,000.
• Maria Stainer can be reached at mstainer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.