March 28th, 2022 by WCBC Radio

Governor Larry Hogan, Senate President Bill Ferguson, and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones today announced that they have reached a historic bipartisan agreement to provide $1.86 billion in tax relief over five years for Maryland retirees, small businesses, and low-income families.

Combined with the recently-enacted gas tax suspension, this legislative session will deliver nearly $2 billion in tax relief.

“Today, we are announcing the largest tax cut package in state history with major and long-overdue relief for Maryland’s retirees,” said Governor Hogan. “Cutting our state’s retirement taxes is something we have been trying to accomplish for seven years, and I want to thank the leaders of the General Assembly for working with us to get this done for Maryland’s seniors. This agreement will deliver on our promise to provide real, long-term relief for hard-working Marylanders dealing with inflation and higher prices, and help create more jobs and more opportunity to continue our strong recovery.”

“The last two years of the pandemic have shown the cracks in our state’s civic infrastructure,” said President Ferguson. “As I’ve said since the beginning of the 2022 legislative session, everything we do must prioritize our state’s economy and the health of our residents. This historic agreement demonstrates that regardless of political party, leaders come together to deliver vital services and economic relief for families, seniors, and small businesses.”

“The House started this session with a clear goal of helping Marylanders left behind in the post-pandemic recovery,” said Speaker Jones. “This bipartisan agreement helps hundreds of thousands of seniors on fixed incomes who are struggling with inflation and puts families on a stronger footing as they buy necessities and pay for child care or college. The significant increase in capital spending, coupled with the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, will help Maryland businesses put more chronically unemployed Marylanders back to work.”