It was a very different sine die than I have ever seen. The Governor's budget bill held up until the very end with delegations from PG County, Baltimore City vying for precious slots dollars. The Speaker of the House and President of the Senate playing chicken with the end of session and the Governor pleading for a budget bill that meets his priorities.
The result was the passage of the spending part of the Governor's budget bill but not the revenue package (and all of the tax increases). That leaves what they call the “Doomsday budget” which means across the board cuts in the state budget of more than $500 million. Many have said that would be a good thing in light of an increases in spending by almost $1 billion in the budget.
Our CPA Agenda on the other hand went extremely well. See the short video recap below:
The good news: CPAs went four for four this year. The MACPA and our members played a direct role in stopping sales taxes on accounting and tax services, stopping e-filing taxes from the “digital download” tax, stopping combined reporting, and passing an electronic filing bill for Maryland tax credits.
The bad news: Because the revenue package for the governor’s budget bill did not pass, there is a high likelihood that a special session will be called to address revenues (tax increases) — which means our issues could be put back in play before June 30.
We will be holding our special MACPA PIU/townhall – legislative/regulatory update (live & webcast) on May 4, 2012 – information here
And don't forget to mark your calendars for CPA DAy in Annapolis 2013 – register free here
More on the close of the Maryland General Assembly:
Maryland Chamber of Commerce – General Assembly Recap
Washington Post blog – What did pass the Maryland General Assembly
Baltimore Sun – What now? Legislative leaders decry budget cuts, say special session is needed
WBAL – Finger pointing as Lawmakers Leave Annapolis Without a Tax Vote
Related posts from MACPA Blogs: CPA Success & CPA Legislative Insider
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