I spoke with Comptroller Peter Franchot earlier this week and he asked us to help communicate the details of the newly enacted 2007 Tax Reform Act of Maryland as they become available. The comptroller has launched a Web site which will offer guidance on the new law.

The good news is that our analysis and reporting on this was accurate, but I want to point out a few important dates and details about which members have been asking:

1. The new sales tax rate of 6 percent is effective Jan. 3, 2008. See the comptroller’s bulletin for details.
2. Sales taxes on computer consulting is not effective until after July 1, 2008.
3. New extensive corporate reporting requirements are effective for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2005. These requirements have been described as draconian due to their broad and extensive requirements. It will need to be built into your tax budgets and engagement letters for practicing CPAs. At this point, the comptroller’s office did not have any guidance, but we will get it as soon as it is available. Sutherland Asbill and Brennan has published a legal alert that describes the reporting requirements in detail.
4. See our compete analysis for further information on the corporate and individual tax rates, etc., in our prior blog post.
5. Here is the latest information on the special session from the General Assembly, including the full text of all bills passed and signed by Gov. O’Malley.

It is now time to look ahead to the 2008 General Assembly session, which is scheduled to begin on Jan. 9 and continue for 90 days until April 7. There are plenty of issues that we need to focus on!

In our town hall meetings across the state, our members have confirmed our 2008 agenda to include these priorities:

1. Stopping sales tax on services. Yes, it could be back again!
2. Enacting mobility legislation to make your CPA license more mobile to serve your clients and employers in multiple states and jurisdictions.
3. Preventing unnecessary tax preparer licensing that could negatively impact CPAs and the public interest of our services.
4. Preventing the trial lawyers from liberalizing Maryland tort laws to make it easier to sue Maryland businesses and CPAs.

Want two more hours of free CPE? An up-to-the-minute update of the new Maryland tax law? Want to influence the CPA agenda in Annapolis? Sign up for CPA Day in Annapolis now! Register for this free event here. It will be held on Jan. 23 at the Governor Calvert House in Annapolis.