Craig on Maryland's New Taxes: 'There is No Reason...'

Article by Elizabeth Janney, Patch Editor.

Living in Maryland is a little more expensive as new taxes took effect Monday, and Harford County Executive David Craig is voicing his opposition, specifically to the "rain tax" and toll hikes.

“Many of these taxes need to be reduced or done away with,” Craig, a Republican running for Maryland governor in 2014, told WBAL–TV. “They hurt different areas in different ways.”

Ten Maryland jurisdictions are required, as of July 1, to collect what has been dubbed the "rain tax," a fee for stormwater remediation.

Harford, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Charles, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George's counties, as well as Baltimore City, were tasked with taxing their citizens based on impervious surfaces.

The measure is part of Maryland's plan to restore health to the Chesapeake Bay by 2017, as mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Craig said he has been vocal about his opposition to the rain tax legislation since before it passed through the General Assembly in 2012.

"I was leading the fight on this two years ago,” Craig said Sunday on WBAL–TV. On Monday, he issued a press release calling for the rain tax's repeal.

This year, Harford County residents will pay $12.50 per house for the rain tax, and the cost could go up to $125 over time, Craig said.

In Frederick County, homeowners pay one cent; in Baltimore City, residents may pay $144 per residence, Craig said; in Carroll County, citizens won't have to pay it individually because it has been built into the budget.

Once the money has been collected, Craig said the EPA has not provided sufficient direction as to how it will improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay.

"The EPA doesn’t need to tell us what to do if they haven't told us what needs to be done,” Craig said on WCBM 680 AM Monday.

"In the rush to comply with the EPA mandate, our elected officials over-compensated and defaulted to raising taxes," Craig said in a press release. "There is no reason the Governor of Maryland should assume a subservient status when it comes to conforming with federal government wishes."

Taxes in Maryland are becoming a hindrance to its growth, according to Craig.

“A lot of people are leaving the state,” Craig said on WCBM. “There’s a lot of frustration [because of] so many taxes. I believe most of them could be lowered."

On top of the new rain tax and a gas tax hike, tolls went up in Maryland July 1.

Tolls "need to be modified," Craig said on WCBM. When the Hatem Bridge was built in 1940, he added, "the promise was, as soon as the bridge was paid for, there wouldn't be a toll anymore." As of July 1, the Hatem Bridge is the most expensive to cross in Maryland (along with the Tydings Bridge), at $8.

Craig is not alone in his discontent. On Monday, the GOP was holding press conferences in Frederick and the Eastern Shore to protest the new taxes, WJZ reports.