Combined Reporting: SB 269 would alter Maryland’s income tax laws to impose a system of mandatory unitary combined reporting for corporations. The Maryland Chamber has opposed combined reporting for a number of years. Instituting combined reporting would cause huge shifts in tax liabilities among Maryland businesses engaged in interstate commerce. Such a tax change is ill-advised during the current economic climate. The Maryland Business Tax Reform Commission evaluated the state’s business tax structure, and recommended against implementing combined reporting at this time. Maryland’s competitor states do not use combined reporting.

Millionaires’ Tax: SB 249 would reimpose the 6.25 percent personal income tax bracket on taxpayers with a net taxable income of over $1 million. The Maryland Chamber opposes this legislation because this tax falls disproportionately on small business owners, who need to reinvest funds into their companies to create jobs. Raising individual income taxes will make Maryland less competitive on a major tax with which we are over-reliant and uncompetitive. The Department of Legislative Services reports that Maryland has the 2nd highest state and local income tax revenue as a percent of personal income.

Gross Receipts Tax: SB 248 would impose an alternative minimum tax on corporations based on a percentage of their gross receipts. The Maryland Chamber opposes this bill. Gross receipts taxes are unfair because they are not based on profits or an ability to pay, and penalize industries that have high gross receipts but low net margins. Similar legislation was enacted and later repealed in New Jersey due to the negative impact on business. The bill would significantly increase business taxes on Maryland employers.

No hearing dates have been scheduled on these bills, but we will keep you up to date as legislative action progresses. For more information, contact Ron Wineholt at rwineholt@mdchamber.org.

This bill addresses several issues relating to the authority of the state Health Benefit Exchange and the future structure of health insurance markets in Maryland. Provisions include:

• Establishing requirements for carriers to offer plans in the Exchange and the private market;
• Providing licensure or certification for Exchange Navigators;
• Allowing brokers to sell policies in the Exchange and private market;
• Maintaining separate markets for the individual and small group markets;
• Keeping the small group employee size at 50 until 2016; and
• Providing a mechanism to establish essential health benefits in 2012.

The Maryland Chamber believes that this bill resolves many of the issues relating to the role of the Health Benefit Exchange and the functioning of the health insurance market in Maryland. We have concerns regarding language in the bill that allows the Exchange to engage in selective contracting. This provision could enable the Exchange to exclude otherwise qualified carriers from competing in the Maryland marketplace and allow the Exchange to set requirements beyond those provided in federal law. The Chamber supports the bill with amendments to address the selective contracting concern.

For more information, contact Ron Wineholt at rwineholt@mdchamber.org.

The Maryland Chamber’s Legislative Committee met with the Governor’s Chief Legislative Officer Joe Bryce to discuss the administration’s agenda earlier this week. During that meeting, Bryce agreed that the language in the bill needs to be clarified. He said that more work would be done to tighten the language, but that it is the Administration’s intent to tax the purchase of canned software and other products that could be bought in a store in a tangible form.

We’ve heard concerns from a number of companies, but we’d like more feedback from members. You can review the language on pages 33 to 42 of the bill. How would this impact your business? Give us your feedback by emailing Ron Wineholt at rwineholt@mdchamber.org.

The Exchange is actively seeking senior IT and Operations executives from organizations that intend to participate as insurance carriers or service providers in the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange or SHOP. These include, but are not limited, to: CIO’s, COO’s, Directors of Architecture, and ACA Program Directors from:

• Health Insurance Carriers in the fully-insured Individual and Small Group Markets,
• Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (MCOs),
• Third Parity Administrators (TPAs),
• Insurance Co-Operatives (Co-Ops)

The Exchange will also reserve slots for other stakeholders and technology providers with experience in online user experience, system design and implementation, health industry CMS technology best practices and more.

If you are interested in applying, see this announcement for more details.

During this town hall meeting-style event, Maryland’s congressional delegation and Maryland Chamber members will discuss important federal business issues, like the economy, transportation funding, business and environmental regulation, and more. Each member of the delegation will briefly outline priorities and discuss how the delegation works together to get results for Maryland. This is the Maryland Chamber’s fastest growing event. Reserve your seat today.

Registration is $85 per person for Maryland Chamber members. The nonmember rate is $150. Register online or contact Kristen Solis at (410) 269-0642, (301) 261-2858 or ksolis@mdchamber.org.

His proposal would phase in the state’s 6 percent sales tax at 2 percent per year for the next three years, with some sort of breaking mechanism to limit the tax if the price of gas spikes. During an interview on WTOP radio, he also agreed that the state should take action to ensure that money raised for transportation funding aren’t used for unrelated purposes.

Chamber President & CEO Kathy Snyder thanked the Governor for his leadership on this important issue and said the organization would review the details of the proposal once the bill is filed, which is expected to happen within the next week.

If you have any questions, contact Allyson Black at ablack@mdchamber.org.

Here are a couple news stories from the event:

• BBJ: Maryland’s Democratic, Republican leaders square off on job creation
• The Gazette: Annual Maryland chamber day draws hundreds of executives to Annapolis

If you missed it, you can view videos of the speeches here. In addition, here are a few photos, courtesy of our friends at Coyle Studios. 

“By investing in our transportation infrastructure we will create jobs and keep Maryland competitive,” Maryland Chamber President & CEO Kathy Snyder, CCE said.

START is an alliance of more than 50 organizations and businesses created last year to promote many of the recommendation’s of the state’s Blue ribbon Commission on Transportation Funding. Members include the Maryland Chamber, Greater Baltimore Committee, Greater Washington Board of Trade and many others.

The Maryland Chamber believes that transportation infrastructure investments have a positive impact on economic development and quality of life. The business community relies on a reliable transportation network to transport goods and services. We think Maryland should do more to invest in the maintenance and improvement of roads, bridges, highways, ports and rails. That starts by protecting Maryland’s Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) to ensure that transportation dollars aren’t used for unrelated purposes.

The Governor is expected to announce his transportation initiatives soon. We’ll keep you updated. If you have any questions, contact Allyson Black at ablack@mdchamber.org.

Photo courtesy of the Greater Baltimore Committee. View more photos from the rally online here

We will work to ensure that this issue does not become a repeat of the 2007 Tech Tax, which threatened to cripple Maryland’s technology businesses. For further information contact Ron Wineholt at rwineholt@mdchamber.org.