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Slots Foe Says He's Willing to Negotiate
House Speaker Michael E. Busch said that "any expansion of gaming should be limited."
(By James M. Thresher -- The Washington Post)
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"If the idea is somehow that you think you'll go into places like Prince George's and Baltimore and ask them to vote for . . . taxes and fees and turn around and say, 'We're going to put these gaming facilities in,' it becomes a burden they're not going to take up," Busch said.
Busch did not say what he considers an acceptable slots plan. But he has signaled that it would probably be far more restrictive than Miller's proposal this year to put 15,500 machines at seven locations, including four horse tracks.
Busch argued that Maryland could increase the corporate tax and sales tax and "stay competitive" with nearby states.
Maryland's corporate tax rate is 7 percent, roughly 2 percentage points lower than Delaware, the District, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and West Virginia. Virginia applies a 6 percent tax but also taxes personal property for business.
Raising Maryland's sales tax from 5 percent to 5.5 percent, Busch said, would still leave Maryland with a lower tax than the District and most other nearby states.
Busch also pointed to a 2005 national study showing that Maryland applied its sales tax to 39 of 168 possible services, whereas some states taxed more than 160.
Busch said the state should increase vehicle titling taxes and earmark a greater share of corporate income taxes for transportation projects rather than raise the gas tax. He said those initiatives could boost transportation spending by about $20 million a year, less than the $400 million to $600 million that Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari has recommended.
Busch also acknowledged that he has limited control over the coming budget debate, even in his chamber, which has 141 members. "None of these people work for me," he said. "I try to bring them together through the persuasion of argument."
