Nicole Campos Villaran
The state licensing in Maryland fees and taxes are rising as the deficit looms. Driver learning permits and specialty license plates are even getting permission to work as a barber, nail technician, plumber or engineer. The state of Maryland regulates the costs for these and many other types of licenses and activities, and the prices keep rising. This adds a burden on the workers and families trying to keep up with the rising costs of providing government services.
An Institute for Justice study of occupation licensing between 2017 and 2022 found Maryland to be the ninth most burdensome state when considering the number of lower-income occupations that require licenses, the fees involved, education requirements and more. Some lawmakers are considering broader tax hikes meaning the expansion of the amount of economic activity subject to these taxes, usually by eliminating the exemptions, exclusions and deductions. The broader tax hikes are to fill the multibillion-dollar deficits. The deficits and taxes are a dominating conversation in the Annapolis area.
In the House of Minority, the leader Jason Buckel, an Allegany County Republican, said he appreciates Gov. Wes Moore's self-imposed "high bar" for raising taxes. Buckel and his Republican colleagues in the Maryland State released a list during the summer in 2023 of what they considered 338 new or increased taxes and fees since Moore was in office. Moore's spokesman, Carter Elliott IV, said in a statement that the governor has produced a balanced budget and made new investments without rising sales or personal and corporate income taxes. But did not address the specific fee increases, he said that the administration is continuing to "thoughtfully plan the long-term structural solutions."
The rest are increases in existing fees, and some fees are entirely missing from the list. This includes sales tax on electronic smoking devices jumping from 12% to 20% this year or having a handgun permit that increased from $75 to $125 last year. Buckel said, "It doesn't matter if it's 338 or 372 or 299. There's just no way to get around the fact that it ultimately adds up to a lot of money, and it's almost across the board."
These rises also affect the type of vehicle and weight class. The annual costs for medium-sized cars weighing 3,500 pounds were raised from $50.50 to $80.50 for the fiscal year that started July 1 and will continue to increase to $85.50 next year. This does not include the increase in the additional registration surcharge for EMS services, which increased from $17 to $40.
The analysis by The Sun found that about 10% of them are new, and just about four of those could directly impact consumers. Though these increases have hardly targeted consumers directly, they are focused on professional licenses. As a Marylander myself, this is becoming more and more worrisome because one day the percentage will start affecting Marylanders. Maryland is becoming expensive and hard to live comfortably for new homeowners. On top of these fees and taxes Moore is increasing.
Comments