For Immediate Release:                                                               

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ROCKVILLE, MD – With the legislature adjourning this week, Governor Moore was able to deliver on one of the two key themes of his State of the State Speech in February: He will indeed raise taxes. Unfortunately, in doing so, he and the legislature may have crippled his ability to deliver on the second theme in his speech: growing our economy.

“Taxes don’t grow the economy. Quite the opposite, they repel growth. Why would a business come to a state whose leaders make it harder to do business? Economists issued warnings. Business groups sounded the alarm. Individuals raised their voices. But the Governor and the legislature didn’t listen. Now we’ll see how short-sighted their tax-happy policies really are,” said Christopher Summers, President and CEO of the Maryland Public Policy Institute.

Marylanders have good reason to be skeptical that higher taxes promote economic growth. Evidence shows they don’t.

• Maryland already ranks 45^th in the Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index. With an already-unfriendly tax climate, the state board of revenue has continued to lower its estimates as growth remains stagnant
• From 2020 to 2023, states with the ten worst business tax climates lost over 2.5 million people.
• In the same time period, states with the ten best business tax climates gained over 1.3 million people.
• A recent survey showed 53% of Marylanders are considering leaving the state, citing reasons like too few good paying jobs and a poor business climate. Higher taxes only raise our cost of living.
• Simply put, a bad business climate offers little incentive for businesses or workers to move in or stay put.
• Maryland has seen this before: Governor O’Malley worked from the same playbook, raising taxes on high income earners. They left.

Summers continued, “This session, lawmakers looked at every conceivable way to nickel-and-dime Marylanders. Some of the most egregious ideas were left on the chamber floor, but make no mistake that raising costs for business raises costs for consumers. It’s going to be difficult to grow our economy while people can’t afford to live, work, or run a business in our state.”

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The Maryland Public Policy Institute is a nonpartisan public policy research and education organization that focuses on state policy issues. The Institute’s mission is to formulate and promote public policies at all levels of government based on principles of free enterprise, limited government, and civil society. Learn more at mdpolicy.org