Yet Another Tax Increase on the Horizon

Statement

This past weekend while door knocking with supporters and volunteers in Montgomery County, I was informed about a new tax hike set to hit the county. Apparently, the 2017 budget passed unanimously by the Montgomery County Council included an 8.7 percent property tax increase. This is the biggest property tax hike in the last eight years in a county that already has some of the highest home values in the country. According to the latest data, the average value of a home in Montgomery County is more than $460,000.

The Montgomery County Council also increased the recordation tax on home sales by more than $500 for the average transaction. It's no wonder that Montgomery County residents have moved out and taken $6.48 billion in personal income with them since 1992. Where are Montgomery County residents moving? They are going counties with lower tax rates like Frederick, Howard and Anne Arundel Counties, as well as Fairfax County in Virginia and Palm Beach, Florida.

Needless to say, the people I spoke to were incredibly unhappy with the council's move. This new tax will cost the average homeowner an extra $325 a year on top of their already high property taxes. And the added $500 recordation tax will go on top of some of the highest closing costs in the nation making it more expensive to live, and also buy and sell houses in Montgomery County.

This latest tax increase is on top of former Governor O'Malley's automatic gas tax increase that I wrote about two weeks ago. If you missed it, in 2013 O'Malley advocated for and got an automatic gas tax that has increased a whopping 42.5 percent with no end in sight. The latest increase in the gas tax will go into effect on July 1st -- the same date Montgomery County's new budget will take effect.

Governor Hogan has proven that you can properly fund the government and balance the budget without raising taxes. That's because we don't have a revenue problem in this country -- we have a spending problem. But we consistently see career politicians become enamored with spending more of your hard-earned money rather than making the cuts necessary to live within their own means.

As a small business owner, I know what it means to make a budget -- and stick to it. Like you and your family, we don't have the luxury of running up trillions of dollars in debt. We have to make fiscally responsible decisions. And it's time for the government to start doing the same. That's why we need more small business owners like Governor Hogan and myself in government. That is the only way we are going to see real change.

If you agree with me that we have a spending problem in this country, not a revenue problem, I encourage you to sign my petition opposing the automatic gas tax: www.kathyformaryland.com/stop_the_gas_tax. It is only when the real people of Maryland like you stand up and demand that your voices be heard that professional politicians are forced to listen. I know that together we can change Washington!

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