Maryland’s General Assembly has passed legislation that would establish a Legal Division in the Office of the Comptroller and create a private letter ruling process.

The bills in question, House Bill 366 and Senate Bill 477, passed their respective chambers and will now cross over. Once passed, the legislation will then go to Gov. Larry Hogan for his signature.

MACPA legislative volunteers have been advocating for a Maryland private letter ruling (PLR) process for a long time. PLRs allow taxpayers to get binding answers from the Comptroller’s Office to their tax questions. In turn, the taxpayers can then pay the right amount of tax at the right time, rather than years later after an audit or litigation. Several dozen other state departments of revenue have a similar process in place. By establishing a Legal Division in the Office of the Comptroller and creating the PLR process, Maryland would take a strong step in the fair and transparent administration of state tax laws.

The MACPA’s State Tax Committee has advocated for this legislation on behalf of our tax community and worked with bills’ sponsors, Del. Brooke Lierman and Sen. Katie Fry Hester, on an amendment to extend the amount of time the PLR is binding from three to seven years.

Many thanks in particular to Karen Syrylo and Jeff Lawson for taking time out of their busy-season schedules to testify in support of this important legislation.