Opposition to tech tax

WBAL.com

The Greater Baltimore Committee is launching a Web ad campaign today for repeal of the computer services tax.

The tax is set to take effect in July.

Greater Baltimore Committee President & CEO Don Fry says this is a tax that targets one particular industry, an industry that the GBE has been advocating for growth in the state for many years.

Fry says the state has been working hard to get these skilled workers to come to Maryland and this tax would serve as a detriment to those efforts.

Fry adds that Maryland is one of the few states that has been identified as being really ready for the new economy and this tax would hurt those efforts.

The Internet advertising campaign is being designed to inform the public about the impact that this tax could have on the Maryland economy.

The GBC is asking the public to step up and contact their legislators to let them know how much they care about Maryland’s economy and the information technology industry. Fry says “the computer services tax is not the best way for Maryland to be treating companies who are looking to come here or stay in Maryland at a time when we are trying to increase our technology professions and occupations in Maryland.”

Fry says the main reason he believes people are most upset about the computer services tax is because there is no solid public policy justification for it. Fry calls it a tax that was imposed at an ill-fated time in the state legislature when lawmakers were attempting to fill a hole in the budget.