(ANNAPOLIS – March 21, 2023) – Comptroller Brooke Lierman’s three legislative priorities have made it through the Senate and House in what is known as Crossover Day, when a bill passes in one chamber and moves to the other, in the Maryland General Assembly.
“I am grateful to the Maryland General Assembly for moving our legislative priorities forward on Crossover Day,” Comptroller Brooke Lierman said. “These legislative priorities will help ensure that Maryland’s tax systems are modernized, more equitable, and better positioned to address the needs and concerns of Maryland’s taxpayers. I’d like to thank Senate President Bill Ferguson, Speaker Adrienne Jones, and all of the members of the Senate and House of Delegates for their support.”
The Tax Parity for Delayed Unemployment Insurance Payments HB708 / SB661, passed the Senate. – This legislation establishes a rebate program to refund taxes withheld from or paid as a result of Unemployment Insurance payments received in 2022 to bring the recipients into parity with other taxpayers whose benefits were both earned and paid during the timeframe envisioned by the RELIEF Act of 2021. As written, the Act did not anticipate delays at the Maryland Department of Labor, causing benefits earned during the calendar years 2020 and 2021 to result in payments received in Tax Year 2022. More than 45,000 Marylanders received more than $11 million in benefits during TY2022 that they earned in 2020 or 2021, and they had state taxes withheld from those payments.
21st Century Financial Systems Council-Establishment HB709 / SB659, passed both the Senate and the House of Delegates. Brought by the Comptroller in partnership with the Treasurer and Secretary of Budget & Management, this legislation will create a directive to investigate, adopt, and implement a new general accounting system for the entire state government. Maryland has one of the oldest accounting and payment processing systems in the country and needs to begin a thoughtful but expedient process to replace this outdated system to guarantee continued service to vendors, businesses, and non-profits who rely on timely state agency payments as well as to balance the state’s checkbooks every year.
The Supporting All Taxpayers Act of 2023 HB707 / SB660, passed the Senate and the House of Delegates. Unlike neighboring states and the federal government, Maryland does not have a designated department committed to helping taxpayers and their elected representatives utilize the resources available within the Office of the Comptroller to resolve tax problems. This legislation establishes an Office of the State Taxpayer Advocate within the Comptroller’s Office and provides at least six staff members to assist Marylanders with timely resolutions to tax issues and work to identify and address systemic challenges to efficient tax processing and problem resolution for Marylanders.
Three other bills brought by the Office of the Comptroller, but that are more technical in nature, have also successfully made it to the opposite chamber in the General Assembly:
Commercial Law – Abandoned Property – Alterations SBO241, passed the Senate and has moved to the House of Delegates. – This allows the Comptroller’s Office to dispose of abandoned property with no commercial value. These items have been abandoned for years and the state has been unable to reunite them with an owner. These are items like human hair and baby teeth, that have been held by the agency’s Unclaimed Property division.
Income Tax – Work Opportunity Tax Credit – Technical Correction SBO242, passed the Senate and has moved to the House of Delegates. – This is a technical fix to correct a certain incorrect cross-reference to the federal Internal Revenue Code relating to the federal work opportunity credit in the state code.
Income Tax – Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit – Alterations SB0243, passed the Senate and has moved to the House of Delegates. – This is a fix to the tax code to ensure only Maryland residents can claim the child and dependent tax credit.
On February 28, Comptroller Lierman was joined by a number of leading advocates and stakeholders in support of her legislative agenda. Supporters included Robin McKinney, MSW, Co-Founder and CEO of the CASH Campaign of Maryland; Giavante’ Hawkins, Executive Director of the Maryland Society of Accounting and Tax Professionals; Pablo Blank, Immigration Integration and National Service -AmeriCorps- leader at CASA de Maryland; Amanda Rodriguez, Esq., Executive Director of TurnAround Inc; and Benjamin Orr, Founder, President and CEO of the Maryland Center on Economic Policy. Other guests included Beverly Winstead of IRS Help Attorneys, Tammy Bresnahan of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), and Stacey Mink of The Impact Project.