Counties association favors slots
Qualified support based on program of compensation
From Friday's Sun - baltimoresun.com
By James Drew, Sun reporter, October 25, 2007
The Maryland Association of Counties offered qualified backing Thursday for Gov. Martin O'Malley's call to legalize slot machine gambling, saying it "could be an acceptable long-term state revenue source, were such a program responsibly crafted."
"A responsible slots program must provide continuing fair and full compensation to the host subdivisions for impact expenses and respect local land use authority," according to a statement distributed at a news conference at the State House.
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The Democratic governor's package includes an increase in the state sales tax from 5 cents to 6 cents, extending the tax to cover more services, changing the income tax structure so that high earners pay more and low- and middle-income filers pay less, an increase in the corporate income tax rate from 7 percent to 8 percent, closing corporate loop holes and a property tax reduction.
The governor also backs legalizing slot machine gambling, but he has signaled he might back a referendum on that proposal.
… two days after O'Malley released a 20-page report, called the "Cost of Delay" budget, that outlines cuts of $850 million to local jurisdictions and $800 million to state agencies and programs.
Republicans referred to the governor's move as a scare tactic and noted that Democratic legislative leaders released a similar list of doomsday cuts over the summer in arguing for new revenue measures.
MACo officials said that if the state chooses spending cuts over tax increases, the burden of balancing the budget would be shifted to local governments, which would be forced to consider their own cuts and property tax increases.
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