Update: This bill failed to pass during the 2015 session.
The Senate Budget and
Taxation Committee unanimously passed a watered down version of Governor Hogan’s
SB 589 / HB 483 “Motorist Tax Relief” bill on
Friday March 27. NFIB/MD is
disappointed with the changes to the original bill which would have 1.) canceled
three increases to the gas tax 2.) would have ended the indexing provisions,
which increase the gas tax annually based on inflation
Unfortunately, the
amended legislation no longer includes removing the automatic increases. The only
part of the bill that resembles the Governor’s original version is a provision
that would lower the cap on how much the tax can raise due to inflation from 8
percent to 3 percent.
While
the Governor and many legislators see this as a step in the right direction,
the reality is that tying
tax rates to the fluctuating CPI means that the price could increase each year.
This yearly fluctuation in gas cost makes it difficult for businesses that
already operate on small margins.
