Maryland lawmakers and Governor Moore are on track this week to pass a final state budget plan that — after months of back-and-forth negotiations — will hinge on a nearly $500-million new tax that was fast-tracked and will hit one of the state’s top priorities for economic growth. The 3 percent sales tax on data, information technology and software publishing is at the center of Democratic leaders’ tax reform plan, which, in addition to more than $2 billion in spending cuts, aims to fill a roughly $3.3 billion budget shortfall.
Possible business exodus: Todd Marks, owner and CEO of Mindgrub Technologies, said that the controversial new 3 percent tax on digital services might lead him to reconsider the future of his business, which is Baltimore’s largest headquartered digital technology agency. “If the tax is passed, I will have to move or go out of business in this state,” he said.
