FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 12, 2013
Contact:
Steve Crim
ANNAPOLIS
- Lt. Governor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Anthony Brown
issued a proposal yesterday - Veterans Day - to exempt military
retirement income from Maryland taxes. In 2010, as a candidate for
lieutenant governor, Brown vocally opposed the same proposal.
Change
Maryland Chairman Larry Hogan blasted Brown's hypocrisy: "Four years
ago, this Lieutenant Governor stood before all Marylanders at a press
conference and criticized this very proposal,"
he said. "Not only did his administration not cut taxes for veterans
for seven years, Brown and other tax and spend politicians raised taxes
forty consecutive times, further burdening struggling veterans. Now, as
he looks to succeed his political mentor, Anthony Brown is finally
ready to talk cuts. Our veterans deserve better than a Governor who is
only in their corner when it's politically convenient."
Touting tax relief in an election year is old-hat for Brown, who joined Governor O’Malley in promising no new taxes
on the campaign trail in 2010. However when the duo won reelection,
they pushed for the most regressive taxes we have seen in recent
history, which have taken billions out of Maryland's economy.
"Yesterday's
proposal from Anthony Brown is nothing new," Hogan continued. "It is a
plan that has stalled in Annapolis for nearly eight years. At any
point during his seven year tenure as lieutenant governor, Brown could
have followed through and championed this issue. Instead, he did
nothing - except raise more taxes."
"For
over seven years the O'Malley-Brown Administration ignored the needs of
Marylanders, including the men and women who serve our country," said
Hogan. "Now, during an election year, we're supposed to believe that
Brown and others like him view veterans as a priority. But if history
is any indication of what Brown would do as governor, it's obvious that
our veterans, and Maryland as a whole, can't afford another four years
of broken promises and failed policies."
Change
Maryland is the state's largest grassroots political organization.
Under the leadership of successful businessman and former Ehrlich
Cabinet secretary Larry Hogan, the group has exploded to over 60,000
Democrats, Republicans, and Independents from every county in the state,
advocating for fiscal responsibility and common sense policies in
Annapolis.
###
@ChangeMaryland
SOURCES:
Ehrlich pushes 'no-brainer' military tax exemption
The Washington Post, August 24, 2010
O'Malley thanks voters, says no new taxes next year
The Washington Post, November 3, 2010
