Gov. Martin O’Malley is trying to build a consensus for his tax proposal. Maryland has a structural deficit which O’Mally proposes to fix by a combination of the following: a 1 cent increase in the sales tax; reform of the income tax to make it more progressive; a $1 per pack increase in the cigarette tax; an increase in the corporate income tax and closing of corporate tax loopholes; a cut in the state property tax; and, of course, introduction of an untold number of slot machines at locations to be named later. The governor wants a special session of the General Assembly in November to promptly pass his package. Senate President Mike Miller agrees. But others are saying, “Not so fast!”
Republicans in the state Senate announced this week that they will not supply a single vote for O’Malley’s slots proposal. The Democratic majority in the House of Delegates denied slots to Republican Gov. Bob Ehrlich for four years. So Republicans in the Senate are in no hurry to support O’Malley on slots, and they are positively aghast at the thought of increasing any taxes.
Comptroller Peter Franchot spoke out against slots this week in Baltimore and Silver Spring. Franchot, a Democrat, warned that slots would lead to full gambling casinos, and said slots could not be limited to a few locations.
Steven Pearlstein, the financial columnist, weighed in with a strong critique of the slots proposal in The Washington Post’s business section on Friday. Pearlstein convincingly destroys the proposition that the so-called horse-racing industry should be subsidized by slots.
My prediction: The taxes and slots debate is just getting started. Meanwhile, the Maryland On My Mind blog remains in development and testing. — Bernie
Judy Howe
October 10, 2007
Governor O’Malley needs to let the slots debate die and look for significant ways to cut the bloated state government bureaucracy. But if he is set on raising revenue, he should follow the State of Virginia’s example by penalizing drivers who speed and drive drunk. Those penalties are in the thousands of dollars. Not only would it be a huge revenue source for Maryland, but it would make our highways much safer.