Free Republic

Maryland’s Carroll County recently received a letter from Assistant Attorney General Paul DeSantis, threatening to fine the county $10,000 for each day that it does not enact a storm water remediation fee, also known as a “Rain Tax.” The infamous Rain Tax bill came as a response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “pollution diet” known as the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load. The “pollution diet” requires reductions in pollutants that are primarily found in drainage run-off and fertilizers. The bill was signed by Governor O’Malley this past April and requires 10 of Maryland’s 24 counties to charge an...

This is the latest from the CBO that I could find that detailed the following information: Effective Tax Rate Share of Tax Liabilities Average Pre-Tax and Post-Tax income Share of Pre-Tax and Post-Tax income All of these are displayed in a table that categorizes by quintile (i.e. 0-20%, 20-40%, 40%-60%, 60-80%, and 80%-100%). It also provides this information for the top 10%, top 5%, and top 1%.

NASHVILLE - Gov. Phil Bredesen said he is adamantly against putting a proposed "taxpayer bill of rights" into the state constitution, but he will not actively oppose an amendment to forbid gay marriage. Questioned during an interview about proposed state constitutional amendments, the governor said he thinks popular election of the state comptroller, treasurer and secretary of state is a bad idea but is less strongly opposed to permanently banning a state income tax. The "taxpayer bill of rights," also known by the acronym TABOR, is modeled after a provision in the Colorado Constitution. Bredesen said it is "a disaster"...