Save My Maryland Job (MAHJ)

The Issue: Two job killing bills – HB 121 and SB 168 – in the Maryland State Legislature seek to raise taxes on the hospitality industry by an average of 790%.

What It Does: HB121/SB168 will increase state tax rates for alcoholic beverages sold in Maryland from $1.50 to $10.03 per gallon for distilled spirits, from 40 cents to $2.96 per gallon for wine, and from 9 cents to $1.16 per gallon for beer – an average increase of 790%.

What It Means: With Maryland’s unemployment rate at 7.4%, a 790% alcoholic beverage tax increase could mean a loss of 8,300 jobs.

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Maryland’s hospitality workers…the distributor drivers, men and women who work in bars, restaurants, hotels, and package stores are critical to our economic recovery. They would be hardest hit by this unfair tax. Our state’s hospitality industry contributes more than $4.55 billion in economic activity and employs 2.2% of the state's workforce.

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FOR the purpose of altering State tax rates for alcoholic beverages sold in Maryland; altering the distribution of the alcoholic beverage tax revenue; requiring the Comptroller to distribute a portion of the alcoholic beverage tax revenue to certain special funds to be used only for certain purposes; establishing the Developmental Disability Support Fund as a special fund to be used to support certain services for individuals with developmental disabilities; establishing the Addiction Treatment, Prevention, and Recovery Support Fund as a special fund to be used to support certain programs for the treatment and prevention of drug and alcohol addictions; establishing the Mental Health Care Fund as a special fund to be used to support certain programs for the treatment and prevention of mental illness; establishing the State Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation Fund as a special fund to be used to support certain programs relating to tobacco use prevention and cessation; establishing the Maryland Medicaid Trust Fund as a special fund to be used to provide certain health care services to certain individuals; establishing the Health Care Personnel Training Fund as a special fund to be used to provide grants to certain training consortiums; and generally relating to the alcoholic beverage tax and the dedication of certain alcoholic beverage tax revenue for certain purposes.

It would also reinstate the millionaire's tax on Maryland's top earners and close a loophole that allows companies doing business in Maryland to avoid paying taxes on earnings held out of state.