Spice and flavorings giant McCormick & Co. could be forced to reevaluate its more than century-old presence in Maryland if the proposed 2.5 percent business-to-business sales tax moves ahead and makes operations prohibitively costly, a company executive warned this week. Paul Nolan, vice president of tax, government affairs and strategic real estate at McCormick, and former Maryland Chamber board member, joined business leaders and owners at jammed public hearings Wednesday in Annapolis to oppose the plan. “The work that I do on my laptop every day I can do that anywhere, and I can get that service anywhere,” he said. “We want companies like us to be encouraged to continue to invest and grow as headquarter companies here, and I believe this legislation would do just the opposite.”
Case in point: Other states have seen significant pushback in the wake of increased corporate taxes. In 2016, after Connecticut lawmakers passed several corporate income tax increases, General Electric, which at the time ranked at 11 on the Fortune 500, moved its Fairfield-based headquarters to Boston, seen as more corporate friendly.
