A Maryland House subcommittee late Wednesday rejected a bill that would have applied the state sales tax to professional services, days after a horde of small-business owners railed against the plan and argued that it would be detrimental to their businesses and customers.
“Given tremendous concern from the public and from small business owners, the Revenues Subcommittee voted unanimously to kill HB 1628,” tweeted House Majority Leader Eric G. Luedtke (D-Montgomery), the bill’s sponsor.
House leaders introduced the bill last month as a way to pay for a major public education overhaul, including an expansion of prekindergarten, pay raises for teachers and programs to prepare more students for college and the workforce.
The tax would have been charged for services ranging from haircuts to landscaping to legal or accounting services to car repairs. It was expected to generate $2.9 billion a year by 2025 — a more than 50 percent increase over current sales tax revenue.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Ovetta Wiggins over at The Washington Post
