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June Public Policy Updates

June 10, 2015

By Henry Bogdan, Public Policy & Advocacy Director, Maryland Nonprofits

Join Henry July 9th for Maryland’s Legislative and Budgeting Processes at the Nonprofit Village Center in Rockville, MD.

Specific Topics:

  • – The State Budget Timetable
    – State Revenues and Budget Deficits
    – Organization of the State Legislature
    –  And More…


Employee/Employer Health Insurance

The Maryland Health Connection is launching an information campaign on new health insurance options for small businesses, including nonprofits, with a free webinar on

Wednesday
 June 17, at

2PM
.

Click here to register

Learn more about the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) and Maryland’s small group health insurance marketplace:

  • Access to the small business health care tax credit

  • More choices in plans and insurance companies for employees

  • Flexibility and simplicity in contributing to employee premiums 

 

Maryland Nonprofits Policy Survey

Maryland Nonprofits is asking for your input as we assess what current policy issues are of concern to nonprofits, and determine our policy priorities for the coming year. 

The views and information you can share are important to us. Please try to have an appropriate person in your organization complete this survey in the next two weeks (by June 19), if possible. For information about the survey itself or policy matters in general, contact Henry Bogdan.

 

 

Tax Case Will Reduce County and Municipal Revenues

Legislative Committees received a briefing on June 9 about the likely impact of a U.S. Supreme Court decision (Comptroller v. Wynne) that will reduce local income tax revenues in Maryland in future years, and have an “upfront cost” as refund claims from prior years are satisfied. With state and local budgets already tight, this means possibly even more pressure on resources that counties and municipalities share with their nonprofit communities.

 

  • Marylander taxpayers receive a credit against their Maryland state tax liability only for income taxes paid to most other states (but not D.C., Virginia or West Virginia). State law has not allowed the credit to extend to the liability for local income taxes owed to MD counties (a portion being shared with municipalities), even when the taxes paid to the other state exceed the taxpayers’ MD state income tax liability. The Wynne case has ruled this unconstitutional.

  • The estimated cost of refunds already being claimed for prior years is approximately $140 million, but this figure may grow as the time for filing amended returns for certain prior years has not expired. The state will pay these claims out of a local income tax reserve fund, and local governments will have to begin reimbursing that fund in Fiscal Year 2017, not directly impacting their budgets for the upcoming FY 2016.

    However
     the ongoing cost of the credits for future years is estimated at $40 million annually across the counties.

 

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