Moore, Smoke and Mirrors by Clayton Mitchell

Governor Wes Moore, in his rhetorical dexterity, assures Marylanders that his tax proposals target only those who have prospered most, a genteel euphemism for the bludgeoning of the state’s economic backbone. He speaks of fairness, of the moral imperative to require the wealthiest to contribute their fair share, and in so doing, he emplthe oldest trick in the book: the sleight of hand by which the populace is made to believe that their pockets will remain untouched. But as Delegate Steve Arentz and the Joint Republican Caucus have rightly pointed out, the Governor’s budget is a masterpiece of obfuscation, an intricate tapestry of misdirection designed to obscure a reality that is far less sanguine.

The Governor proclaims that 82% of Marylanders will either see a reduction in their taxes or experience no change at all. But what he fails to illuminate, what remains ensconced in the shadows of his rhetoric, is the simple, inescapable truth articulated by Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready: “Every Marylander will pay more in some sort of tax or fee combined under this budget.”

One needs only glance at the litany of new levies to perceive the extent of the ruse. 

The Governor’s budget does not, as he would have it, simply tax the nebulous “rich.” It taxes the working man and woman placing an order from Amazon; it taxes the weary commuter trading in an old vehicle for a newer, more reliable model; and it taxes the small business owner struggling to navigate Maryland’s already inhospitable regulatory labyrinth. 

The elimination of the trade difference tax credit alone ensures that anyone purchasing a vehicle in Maryland will pay tax on the full price rather than the adjusted difference – a change that will affect every motorist, irrespective of their socioeconomic status. It is, in short, an unambiguous assault on the citizenry masquerading as a targeted measure against the elite.

House Minority Leader Jason Buckel, in his sober assessment, has noted the Governor’s penchant for “giving with one hand while taking with the other.” A reduction in corporate tax rates, an idea long championed by Republicans, is dangled before Maryland’s business community as a sop. The concurrent increase in personal income tax rates ensures that small businesses filing as pass-through entities will see no relief. Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey correctly identifies this as a direct hit to Maryland’s job creators, a policy poised to stymie growth rather than foster it.

This is not the first time Maryland has entertained the seductive folly of punitive taxation against its most productive citizens. Senator Paul Corderman reminds us that when Governor O’Malley imposed a millionaire’s tax in 2008, the state hemorrhaged $1 billion in net tax base as residents fled to more hospitable climes. That revenue now services the needs of Virginia, South Carolina, and beyond—states that had the good sense not to disincentivize prosperity.

The Governor’s defenders will doubtless point to spending reductions, but, as Delegate Jeff Ghrist sagely observes, these are reductions in the rate of spending increases, not genuine cuts. Meanwhile, the state continues to lavish resources on projects of dubious necessity. “There’s $60 million to study the Red Line,” Delegate Jesse Pippy quips. “I mean, has this thing not been studied enough?”

Further compounding the issue, Governor Moore’s budget revives a problematic proposal to shift the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) costs nearly entirely to county governments. As Kevin Kinnally, Legislative Director for the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo), details in Conduit Street, counties currently reimburse the State for 50 percent of SDAT’s operating costs, a system that ensures fairness, consistency, and uniformity in property assessments. However, the Governor’s proposal seeks to increase this share to 90 percent, imposing an additional $21 million burden on counties—a move that has been repeatedly rejected by the General Assembly in prior sessions for good reason.

Kinnally warns that this cost shift threatens the integrity of Maryland’s property assessment system. The current centralized model ensures unbiased valuations and taxpayer confidence but shifting 90 percent of assessment costs onto counties risks undermining objectivity, as local governments struggling with funding pressures may be incentivized to manipulate assessments. Moreover, the proposed change disregards the shared benefits of SDAT’s work, as property assessments support both county and state revenues. 

The Department of Legislative Services has cautioned against this shift multiple times, warning that it reduces the State’s incentive to manage SDAT’s budget responsibly. Instead of seeking real budgetary reforms, the Governor’s approach burdens local governments already grappling with fiscal challenges in education, transportation, and public safety.

Then there is the absurdity of the 75-cent fee imposed on delivery orders from retailers. The Governor and his legislative allies, ensconced in leafy suburbs replete with Targets, Trader Joe’s, and Wegmans, may find it fashionable to decry the perils of online retail. It is easy, after all, to rail against the corporate behemoth of Amazon when one has the luxury of meandering through Williams-Sonoma for kitchenware or popping into Harris Teeter for gourmet cheese. 

But what of those in Maryland’s urban cores and its rural outposts? What of the Baltimorean who lives in a food desert where the nearest grocery store is a mile away, but the nearest liquor store is on the corner? What of the farmer in Garrett County, who, faced with a dearth of local retail options, must rely on deliveries for necessities and other purchases?

This fee is nothing short of a direct penalty on those who have the least access to brick-and-mortar retail. It is a tax on necessity masquerading as a tax on convenience. The well-heeled suburbanite may sneer at those who rely on Amazon for household staples, but in vast swaths of the state, online retail is not a luxury — it is a lifeline. The Governor’s delivery fee, then, is not merely an attack on consumers; it is an attack on the very people his rhetoric purports to defend.

The fundamental question remains: what does Maryland gain in exchange for this proliferation of new burdens? Will the deficit be meaningfully reduced? Delegate Jason Buckel provides a sobering reality check: “If we eliminated the additional Blueprint spending that we started, what would the budget deficit be? $700 million.” That is to say, the state finds itself in fiscal peril not because it taxes too little, but because it spends too much. The Governor’s budget does nothing to address the structural spending issues that have led Maryland to this precipice. Instead, it opts for what Taxpayer Advocate David Williams rightly calls “a lot of smoke and mirrors.”

The Governor’s assertion that he is cutting taxes for lower- and middle-income Marylanders is, in the end, demonstrably untrue. It is a carefully curated fiction, a fairy tale designed to placate while the machinery of taxation grinds inexorably forward. The burdens already imposed—from last year’s tobacco tax to the rising car registration fees—have left many Marylanders gasping for economic air. In Baltimore, where BGE rate hikes and water bill increases are already straining household budgets, this latest round of taxation is not merely inconvenient; it is punitive.

Senator Justin Ready, in his customary clarity, poses the question that should be at the forefront of this debate: “Why don’t we fix what’s broken with state government? And that’s our addition to spending and programs.” This, of course, is the question the Governor neglects to entertain, for to do so would be to acknowledge the true source of Maryland’s fiscal woes. 

And so, the charade continues, the smoke thickens, the mirrors reflect an illusion of relief where none exists. Meanwhile, Marylanders—rich, poor, and everyone in between—are left to foot the bill.

Clayton A. Mitchell, Sr. is a life-long Eastern Shoreman, an attorney, and former Chairman of the Maryland Department of Labor’s Board of Appeals.  He is co-host of the Gonzales/Mitchell Show podcast, which discusses politics, business, and cultural issues.