Tax Cuts, Job Growth Are Top Legislative Priorities for Maryland Chamber

Tax cuts and increasing the number of private-sector jobs in the state are among the Maryland Chamber of Commerce’s top priorities for the upcoming General Assembly session, reports the Baltimore Business Journal.

The state’s largest business organization will also focus on potential changes to the new stormwater management fee — dubbed by some as the “rain tax” — and initiatives to raise the minimum wage.

Here’s the Business Journal’s rundown of some of the issues the chamber will monitor when the session starts Jan. 8:

• Lowering the state’s 8.25 percent corporate income tax rate, which the chamber says would make Maryland more competitive with neighboring states like Virginia where the tax is 6 percent.
• Reducing the personal income tax paid by small business owners through changing to the rates affecting Subchapter S corporations is also on the agenda
• Bringing consistency to the various stormwater management fees charged by different counties.
• Stopping legislation that could raise the minimum wage to as high as $16 an hour is a lesser priority.