Business Advocate -- November 1, 2007

Special Session: Contact Your Legislators
The Maryland General Assembly convened Monday for a special session to deal with the State’s projected budget deficit. The Maryland Chamber has been very active, testifying on behalf of its members.

Lawmakers have been holding hearings all week on a series of tax proposals. When added up, the proposals would impose more than $700 million in new business taxes. Contact your legislators today and urge them vote against tax increases that would have a negative impact on Maryland's economy and the State's ability to attract and retain jobs.

Visit www.mdchamber.org/specialsession for the latest special session news, Maryland Chamber analysis, and other special session resources. Click the take action link to email your legislators. A sample letter is available or you can write your own.  

Committees Hear Corporate Tax Proposals
Yesterday, the House Ways and Means, House Appropriations, and Senate Budget and Taxation Committees held a joint hearing to consider a number of corporate tax proposals, including increasing the corporate income tax rate from 7 percent to 8 percent, adopting unitary combined reporting, and imposing transfer and recordation taxes on the transfer of controlling interest in certain business entities that own real estate.  

Maryland Chamber State Taxation Consultant Karen Syrylo, CPA outlined the Chamber’s opposition to the proposals:

Corporate Income Tax Rate Increase: Maryland’s current corporate income tax rate is in the middle of the pack nationally. Increasing it from 7 percent to 8 percent will put us in the top third of the states and make us less competitive with states like Virginia and North Carolina. Position Statement (pdf)

Combined Reporting: Unitary combined reporting is an unfair system of taxation because it imports profits and losses of business entities with no connection to Maryland. Adopting unitary combined reporting would cause some Maryland companies to pay more tax, while others would pay less - it’s not a “loophole” closer. Position Statement (pdf)

Controlling Interests: This would be a new tax on Maryland business entities that will complicate and detract from the Maryland business climate. Selling a business is not the same as selling real property; e.g., the purchaser of a business entity becomes liable for the business’s liabilities, which is not true when a property is sold outright. Position Statement (pdf)

Chamber Urges Lawmakers to Restrain Spending
During a joint hearing of the House Appropriations, House Ways and Means, and Senate Budget and Taxation Committees on Tuesday, Maryland Chamber Vice President of Government Affairs Ron Wineholt urged lawmakers to restrain State spending.

“Fewer new taxes would be needed if greater spending restraint is exercised and less revenues lost through the new spending proposals,” Wineholt said.

The Chamber supports the Governor’s proposal to freeze the per pupil foundation amount of education aid for two years and replace the implicit price deflator with a CPI adjustment beginning in FY 2011. “We believe that this is a reasonable cost containment measure to help close the State’s structural deficit,” he said.

Wineholt also encouraged lawmakers to consider additional cuts. For more details on the specific cuts, view Wineholt’s written testimony here (pdf).

Bill Would Expand Sales Tax to Professional Services
Saturday, November 3, the House Ways & Means Committee will consider legislation to expand the sales tax to professional services (HB 11). Services being considered for taxation include:

• Management and business consulting services
• Engineering services
• Tax preparation services
• Public relations services
• Recruiting and staffing services
• and many more

The Maryland Chamber will strongly oppose this bill. If you would like to get involved in our efforts, contact the Chamber’s State Taxation Consultant Karen Syrylo, CPA at
ksyrylo@mdchamber.org.

Chamber Supports Increased Transportation Funding
Maryland Chamber President & CEO Kathy Snyder joined Greater Baltimore Committee President & CEO Don Fry and Greater Washington Board of Trade President & CEO Jim Dinegar yesterday to urge lawmakers to increase transportation funding by a minimum of $600 million annually.

“The time is now for Maryland to invest a minimum of $600 million per year in its transportation infrastructure,” Snyder said. “This is an investment in our future that will enhance the region’s competitiveness and viability for supporting economic expansion and job growth.”

The three organizations recently released a transportation study that found that roadway congestion in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. region costs Maryland more than $3 billion per year — $1 billion in the Baltimore area and more than $2 billion in the D.C. area.

The three organizations agree that an increase in the state’s gas tax should be part of the solution to provide at least $600 million in new funding per year. Revenue dedicated to the Transportation Trust Fund should stay in the fund and not be used for General Fund purposes. The majority of additional taxes for transportation purposes should be raised from transportation-related sources.

For more information, visit www.mdchamber.org/specialsession.

November 14-15: Business Policy Conference
Register today for the Maryland Chamber’s Business Policy Conference, which will be held on November 14-15 at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Resort in Cambridge.

The Maryland Chamber has taken steps to ensure an outstanding program, even if the special session is still underway. As of today, the House Speaker and Senate President are still scheduled to speech on Thursday morning, November 15. We’ve also added Anirban Basu, Chairman & CEO of Sage Policy Group, Inc., as the dinner speaker on November 14. Basu will discuss Maryland's role in globalization.

In addition, keynote speakers, panels of experts, will discuss issues important to Maryland employers, including:

• Updates on Maryland’s Business Tax Structure
• Regional Economic Development Initiatives
• Higher Education Funding
• Security Breach/Identity Theft Legislation
• Health Care Affordability
• Environmental Initiatives
• The Impact of BRAC

View the complete agenda here. Registration is $315 for both days, or $225 for one day, for Maryland Chamber members; $400 for nonmembers. Register online here or contact Kristen Solis at (410) 269-0642, (301) 261-2858 ksolis@mdchamber.org. The conference is being sponsored by IWIF. The media sponsor is the Baltimore Business Journal.

Human Resource Tools For Chamber Members
Whether you have five employees or 5,000, the Maryland Chamber of Commerce’s human resource tools provide access to the information you need to run your business.

The Maryland Chamber has teamed with NationJob, the No. 1 provider of community-based Internet recruitment solutions, to provide a discounted, members-only recruitment solution that receives 60 million hits each month. To learn more about NationJob’s service, visit www.nationjob.com/maryland.

The Chamber’s Human Resources Solutions Center provides Chamber members a one-stop HR shop, offering information regarding human resource issues, employment laws and regulations impacting Maryland business. For more information, visit www.solutioncenter.ceridian.com/hrsc/MD/.

Maryland Chamber members receive a significantly discounted pay and benefits survey from Compdata Surveys. It provides information on more than 480 jobs reported by industry, company size, region, pay rates, benefits and much more. For more information, visit www.compdatasurvey.com.

Welcome New Members
-Direct Energy, Bethesda.  One of North America’s leading integrated energy companies and a member of the Centrica group of companies, with operations across Canada, Texas and the Northeastern United States, Direct Energy delivers $8 billion of energy and related services to over five million residential and commercial customers.

-Greater Baltimore Black Chamber of Commerce, Baltimore.  The GBBCC is committed to serving an educational and business network to Black-owned businesses operating in Howard County, Baltimore County and Baltimore City.

-Tester-Frers & Company, LLC, Brooklyn, NY.  Providing historical and business research, writing and consulting services to corporate firms, higher learning institutions and individuals. Expertise in genealogy, litigation research, corporate communications, marketing plan development and career development.

-Moon Landscaping, Inc., Chesapeake City.  Landscaping, estate maintenance, paver patios and retaining walls.

-Competitive Power Ventures, Inc., Silver Spring.  A leading clean power asset manager as well as a leading clean energy developer. CPV is developing the cleanest natural gas plant in the state of Maryland located in Waldorf.