The Tax You're Not Hearing About

by Delegate Mike McDermott

As we prepare to celebrate our Independence from British tyranny and unrestrained taxation this week, it is disturbing that Marylanders now face an automatic, annual Gas Tax increase every July 1st from here on out. Our state has become so progressive that we no longer require any legislation to increase taxes on our people. The liberals  have placed our taxing authority on autopilot.

This year the rate will continue to rise. The tax was set at 3.5 cents per gallon effective July 1, 2013. This tax was also indexed to inflation, which accounts for the increase effective tomorrow. The tax will increase by another 3.5 cents on January 1, 2015. Additional increases will also occur well into the future. This constitutes a fuel tax increase of 33%, and it comes at a time when the cost at the pump continues to rise.

To give you an idea of how devastating this taxing approach will have on Marylanders, consider that the cost of gasoline would be over $10.00 a gallon right now in Maryland if this tax had been implemented back in the 90’s. This does not bode well for our economic future.

William Paca, Samuel Chase, Thomas Stone, and Charles Carroll must be rolling over in their graves! These Maryland signers of the Declaration of Independence would be appalled  that a government created “of the people, by the people, and for the people” would take such a cavalier approach to their taxing authority. The crown looks timid by comparison.

Have you heard anything about this tax increase in the local media? Not a word. Google “Maryland Fuel Tax” and you will see articles from July of 2013 when the first tax increase was felt at the pump. Hence the problem with a perennial tax:

• It often goes unnoticed by the public;
• It is easily dismissed by politicians who take no responsibility since it is “automatic”;
• It lacks the accountability of legislative process where taxes can be debated, deliberated, and carefully vetted prior to enactment; and,
• It will never end unless significant legislative action is taken.

Pennies and small percentages do not sound like much until you consider their multiplied effect on our economy and your family wallet. After all, every penny the government takes is coming directly out of our local economy. When the folks have less money to spend, the loss is felt in every sector.

When fuel prices rise, transportation costs increase. The vast majority of goods on the Eastern Shore come via truck, and the added costs are borne by the consumer. A rising tide floats all boats much like an increased fuel tax is felt in every wallet.

State budgets that increase spending beyond revenues must be fed. Under the current leadership in Maryland, government needs come first. This was never the view of the Founding Fathers.

Our prosperity as a state is tied to the success of a private sector that has been lashed and bound to an anchor. It is high time we raised the anchor and loosed the citizens of this state!