Budget framework would close deficit, provide tax relief to middle class, and make Maryland more business-friendly
Marylanders are reading about how Governor Moore and state legislative leaders are working on a budget that cuts or keeps taxes the same for 94% of Marylanders, grows the economy, and makes Maryland more business-friendly.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT.
The Baltimore Banner: Moore defends budget balanced with new taxes as ‘deeply responsible’
By Pamela Wood
March 27, 2025
- “This is a deeply responsible budget that we’ve landed on, and one that we think that the people of the state will appreciate,” Moore said. He repeated his claim that 94% of Marylanders will see no change or a modest cut to their income taxes.
- “My response is: This is a very deeply fiscally responsible budget that actually has the largest amount of cuts in Maryland’s budget in 16 years, that this is a budget that’s actually focusing on industries of growth and, by the way, we are not doing it on the backs of middle-class families.”
- Moore said businesses and entrepreneurs should be heartened by his administration’s efforts to attract life sciences, tech and aerospace industries to the state, as well as forthcoming reforms to regulations and permits.
The Maryland Daily Record: Moore, Dems reject notion that ‘tech tax’ runs counter to governor’s growth plan
By Jack Hogan
March 27, 2025
- The governor… said that companies he’s met with recently are excited about the procurement and permitting reforms that this administration has enacted and proposed, about how his administration has called out life sciences, IT and aerospace and defense as “lighthouse industries” for the state, and about recent investments his administration and its partners have made in these industries.
- “For a lot of these industries, we all understand their importance in larger economic growth. We all understand their importance in making sure we’re diversifying our economy off of Washington,” Moore said to reporters Thursday. “And they are seeing a level of support from this administration that they have not seen in years. I think they really do appreciate that.”
- Moore also said Thursday that company leaders with whom he’s met understand that Maryland must “modernize” its tax code to account for the decades-long shift from a state with a goods-based economy to one that’s driven by people paying for services.
- Ferguson said that companies prioritize having access to strong workforce pipelines, reliable transportation infrastructure and a “world-class airport where they can make international deals,” referencing BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, among other factors, when weighing where to set up shop.
- Democrats have said that Maryland has the assets — including highly regarded academic institutions, federal research facilities and private sector investments — necessary to attract companies and grow the lighthouse industries the governor has identified.
- “It’s short-sighted to think that tax rates are the only things that are going into the decision about where to locate and grow,” Ferguson said. “Do they matter? Of course, they matter on the margins. But, creating a strong community that’s safe, that has great infrastructure, that has a great workforce, that’s what every business leader says that they want.”
Maryland Matters: Moore says tax cuts give ‘breathing room to middle class’
By Bryan Sears
March 28, 2025
- “While we are working through all the final details, I’m very clear about what I want the conclusion to be, right?” Moore told a gathering of reporters Friday. “The conclusion is the middle class needs to get a tax cut, that we’ve got to give more breathing room to middle class, more than this currently, across the board. We’ve got to make sure that the middle class are getting more financial support, right?”
- An estimated 94% of taxpayers would pay less or see no change in their state income taxes under the plan while so-called high earners, those earning $500,000 or more, would pay more after being shuffled into two newly created tax brackets.
ABC 7: Maryland governor defends budget cuts, reforms amid concerns over increased taxes
By Brad Bell
March 27, 2025
- [Moore] said the mix of cuts, regulatory reform, and new revenue will actually make the state more business-friendly.
- Moore claims, “The types of reforms we are making when it comes to the larger tax rate, giving middle-class families a tax cut. When you’re looking at the things we’re doing about permitting reform, regulatory reform making it easier for small businesses to be able to grow. When you look at the fact we’re investing hundreds of millions of dollars into new industries of the future to include industries like life sciences and IT industries that Maryland has a unique competitive advantage in I think its difficult for anyone to say with a straight face that we are not moving Maryland to become more pro growth and more business friendly.”
- For Maryland’s economy the bad news is coming at a rapid pace. All those newly announced federal layoffs are taking jobs, meanwhile, tariffs on imported cars are expected to hit the port of Baltimore.
Fox 45 News: Gov. Moore defends budget plans amid questions about tax hikes
By Mikenzie Frost
March 27, 2025
- Gov. Moore said he wants to ensure the state’s structural budget issues aren’t addressed on the backs of middle-class Marylanders, and when pressed on how he explains the tax increases, he pointed to the changes in the tax code.
- “What this budget plan right now has is 94% of Maryland families are about to either get a tax cut or see no change in their taxes at all,” he explained.
- According to the Department of Legislative Service Analysis of the plan, the average family of four in Maryland making $100,000 would expect to see a reduction of $53 in their tax burden.