26 Feb New legislation that could impact small businesses in Maryland
I usually don’t get political, but if you’re a small business in Maryland, there are a couple of legislation bills in the Maryland General Assembly that you may want to know about (and you may want to call your legislator).
First, bill HB1628 is proposing to lower Maryland sales tax rate from 6% to 5%, but it also proposes to expand that 5% sales tax to a vast majority of services, anywhere from babysitting or lawn care to accounting or legal services. Your business could be subjected to this new legislation. This would mean that as a small business you would have to charge sales tax to your clients and pay sales tax on the services you receive. This bill would generate an estimated $2.6 billion per year for the state of Maryland, though I could foresee the Governor vetoing this bill.
Another piece of legislation you may want to know about is focused on digital advertising services. Bill SB0002 proposes a 5% tax on revenue generated from digital advertising services. Maryland would be the first state with a law of this kind.
Maryland General Assembly is about halfway through their term now. I encourage you to contact your legislator and track the progress of these bills on the Maryland General Assembly website.