Gov. Wes Moore’s new budget proposal would raise taxes on Maryland’s wealthiest residents by adding two new tax brackets at income thresholds the state previously did not account for — a plan that some Republicans worry could backfire.
As the state wrestles with a $3 billion budget deficit, Moore is asking “Marylanders who have done exceptionally well financially” to contribute “a little bit more” so the state can invest more in economic growth, public safety and education.
Some Republicans say it’s a wealth tax that could drive Marylanders out of the state.
Previous reports showed an exodus of thousands of wealthy Maryland residents when taxes were raised, as they were under Gov. Martin O’Malley. But a political scientist says tax increases and the alternative — cutting programs — are both usually unpopular with voters.
What Moore’s tax plan would do
For single taxpayers, Moore’s budget would tax all income beyond $500,000 annually at a rate of 6.25% and all income beyond $1 million annually at a rate of 6.5%. The previous highest bracket, a 5.75% rate for income beyond $250,000, remains intact, while the state tax rate would simplify to a flat 4.70% for all Maryland singles earning less than $100,000 a year.
For married couples filing jointly, these figures change slightly — Moore’s budget would tax income beyond $600,000 annually at a rate of 6.25% and all income beyond $1.2 million annually at a rate of 6.5%. The previous highest bracket, a 5.75% rate for income beyond $300,000, remains intact, while the state tax rate would simplify to a flat 4.70% for married Marylanders earning less than $150,000 a year.
‘A direct hit’
While Moore, a Democrat, says the budget means two-thirds of residents would see a tax cut and 82% would see no change, Republicans are concerned the governor’s intended revenue generator could backfire.
State Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey, who represents the Eastern Shore, praised Moore’s budget for attempting to stimulate economic development and lowering the corporate tax rate, but disapproved of the personal tax rate increases.
“The reduction in the corporate tax rate is something we’ve long advocated for,” Hershey said. “However, the increase in the personal income tax will be a direct hit to Maryland’s small business community that file as pass-through entities on personal returns.”
Other Republicans have suggested the tax on millionaires could drive wealthy residents out of the state and unintentionally reduce revenue overall, as occurred under Malley.
According to a 2015 report by The Daily Caller, IRS data showed that roughly 18,600 wealthy taxpayers with $4.2 billion in adjusted gross income — an average income of about $225,000 per taxpayer — moved out of Maryland between 2007 and 2012. Many of these residents went to business-friendly Virginia or established vacation homes in tax havens like Florida as their primary residences, the report said.
Wealth tax or progressive income tax?
But Todd Eberly, a political science professor at St. Mary’s College, says the proposed tax is simply designed to make Maryland’s tax system more progressive.
“Right now, Maryland does not have a particularly progressive income tax. We top out at 5.75 percentage points for anything above $250,000,” Eberly said, noting that 19 other states have more progressive tax systems than Maryland. “That’s only 1 percentage point higher than the marginal tax rate on somebody earning $25,000.”
More recent demographic trends seem to offer a case against so-called “wealth taxes.”
Initiatives like the “Millionaire’s Tax” in Massachusetts, which imposes a 4% surtax on all income over $1 million, and efforts to enact a similar proposal in Washington — the result of a budget crisis similar to Maryland’s — have coincided with the widespread departure of wealthy residents from both states. Massachusetts and Washington rank as the fourth- and tenth-most-fled states by wealthy households, with a net loss of 4,392 and 1,579 in 2023, respectively.
According to Eberly, whether or not wealthy Marylanders leave the state will depend more on factors like the source of their income and the quality of their children’s schools than any specific change to the income tax rate.
“People will label it a wealth tax, but cutting programs is no more politically popular than raising revenue,” Eberly said.
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